Lords Listen on Welfare Reform



Hilary Burkitt - Head of
Strategic Research,
Affinity Sutton



Hilary Burkitt - Head of Strategic Research, Affinity Sutton

Yesterday we waited with anticipation as the House of Lords voted on an amendment to the Welfare Reform Bill that could significantly lessen the adverse impact of the proposed ‘underoccupation penalty’ or ‘bedroom tax’ for social tenants.

Having carried out research on the impact of the proposed reforms as part of the Housing Futures Network, we are acutely aware of the detrimental effect they would have on many of our residents.  We were heartened to see that the Lords took notice of our findings in their debate. 

Our research showed that most of the tenants who would be affected do not feel their property is too large for them, and many have real need for what is supposedly a ‘spare’ bedroom: including children who stay overnight, couples who sometimes need to sleep apart for medical reasons and equipment associated with a disability.

The Lords also acknowledged that our research showed that 40% of those who stand to be affected by the cut are already struggling financially and that four in five would find it difficult to make up the shortfall in housing benefit.   Thirty-five percent believed they would end up in rent arrears if this policy were enacted. 

Analysis undertaken by Cambridge University using our research shows that the arrears across England could total £171 million per year – a risk not only to individual tenants who could lose their homes, but to social housing as a whole as rising arrears and bad debts would put the building of much-needed affordable new homes in jeopardy.

Knowing all this, we were therefore delighted that the Lords took heed and voted with a majority of 68 for amendments that would ensure that tenants who have just a single ‘spare’ bedroom would not have a housing benefit reduction imposed.  We hope that when the Welfare Reform Bill returns to the Commons that the government recognises the evidence that the Lords have responded to and commit to revising this damaging proposal.

Underoccupancy benefit cuts: What will happen to our residents?

Hilary Burkitt - Head of Strategic Research, Affinity Sutton

The government is planning to cut housing benefit for around 670,000 social tenants who are currently underoccupying their homes. What will happen to our residents who stand to be hit by this cut?

This question was troubling us and the other members of the Housing Futures Network: a group of four housing providers working together to examine the future of social housing. To provide the answer we carried out research, asking 452 of our residents what the impact would be on them.

The results clearly show that many would be hard hit by this cut: four out of five thought it would be difficult for them to afford to pay the extra towards the rent to make up for the cut in benefit. More than one in three believed they would end up in arrears as a result.

The majority of those affected are people with disabilities or serious health issues and one in five live in a home which is specially adapted for someone in their household with a disability.

We also found that significant numbers had needs for space which aren’t recognised by the criteria which will be used to determine who will be hit by the cut. For example, over one in 10 have children who regularly stay with them as part of a shared parenting arrangement.

We heard from individuals who could be separated from vital support networks if they were compelled to move, and those who felt they would be forced to drastically cut back their household expenditure, even as far as skipping meals to make ends meet.

With the Welfare Reform Bill currently going through the Lords, we are backing the National Housing Federation’s calls for a rethink.