This week ten of those affected, and their families, wait to find out if the High Court will save them from this destructive policy.
Disability living allowance (DLA) in particular has become the new ‘rent money’. In the population as a whole 10% are in receipt of DLA, but among tenants affected by the bedroom tax this proportion rises to over a third. Despite the Burnip judgment, in which the judge gave clear advice that disability benefits should not be used for rent, chronically sick and disabled tenants report that their DLA is being included in income assessments by local authorities and their expenditure ruthlessly scrutinised.
Not only is this ethically questionable, but it is also highly problematic for anyone who faces losing all or part of their DLA entitlement when assessed for Personal Independence Payment (PIP), as their home will also be at risk. No PIP = no money for rent shortfall = no housing. The fear and anxiety this generates cannot be overstated.
Housing associations are already reporting the accumulation of arrears. Many tenants are already in debt and have had to borrow money from family and friends. Delays as local authorities sift through piles of discretionary housing payment (DHP) applications push tenants further into arrears. There is confusion and regional disparity, with some local authorities including disability benefits as available income and others not.
The bedroom tax is causing harm. It will continue to cause harm. It will continue to exacerbate tenants’ mental and physical health problems. These are not temporary teething troubles that will be smoothed over; impoverishing people will drive them deeper into debt and despair.
This is an aggressively destructive and malignant policy; it is rotten in its conception, its design and its consequences. It’s time to abandon it. We just have to hope the judges agree.
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