Bedroom Tax

Want to donate?

These factsheets will always be free, so that everyone who needs them can access them, no matter what!

However, if you found them helpful and are able to, why not consider making a small suggested donation of £1 towards our work?

Bedroom tax - number of bedrooms allowed

One bedroom is allowed for:

every adult couple (unless it is inappropriate for you to share a room because of disability and one of you gets a qualifying disability benefit, in which case two rooms would be allowed);
any other adult aged 16 or over – including any son, daughter, stepson or stepdaughter serving away on operations as a member of the armed forces, who intends to move back in with you when they return;
two children under 10, unless it is inappropriate for them to share a room because of disability;
two children under 16 of the same sex, unless it is inappropriate for them to share a room because of disability;
any other child (where, for example, there are three children under 10); or
a non-resident carer or carers who regularly provide(s) overnight care for a disabled adult or child who is getting a qualifying disability benefit. The carer(s), who must not be living with you, must be engaged to provide the overnight care and must need to stay overnight at your home on a regular basis. Only one additional bedroom is allowed, even if more than one carer is needed. For housing benefit, even if a qualifying disability benefit is not being paid, the local authority can accept alternative evidence that overnight care is needed – eg a letter from your GP.

Other circumstances where you can get an extra bedroom

BACK TO START

Bedroom tax: Rooms allowed with a qualifying disability benefit

Qualifying benefits allow adult couples to have two bedrooms instead of the usual one. They also entitle a non-resident carer to a bedroom

The qualifying benefits are:

the care component of disability living allowance (DLA), Scottish adult DLA or child disability payment at the middle or highest rate
attendance allowance or pension age disability payment
the daily living component of personal independence payment or adult disability payment
armed forces independence payment

BACK TO START

Other ways you can get an extra bedroom

A further bedroom is allowed if you:

have any child or ‘qualifying young person’ (ie a young person under the age of 20 who you get child benefit for) placed with you for adoption;

are a foster parent (or, in Scotland, a kinship carer); or
(for a period of up to 52 weeks only) have been approved as a foster parent but do not currently have a child/qualifying young person placed with you*.

* You can argue that this should also apply if you are an approved carer under an adult placement scheme.

BACK TO START

Disabled children and the bedroom tax

If you have a child who is not reasonably able to share a room because of their disability and they get the care component of disability living allowance or child disability payment at the middle or highest rate, you will be allowed an additional bedroom for them. In such a case, the Department for Work and Pensions must consider the nature and frequency of the care your child needs during the night, and the extent and regularity of the disturbance to the sleep of the child who would normally have to share the bedroom with them.

BACK TO START

How the bedroom tax might affect you

If, under these rules, it is decided that you have one or more spare bedrooms, your total ‘eligible rent’ (ie the maximum amount that could be covered by the universal credit housing costs amount or by housing benefit) will be reduced by:

14% if you have one spare bedroom; and
25% if you have two or more spare bedrooms.

For example, if your rent is £100 a week, your eligible rent would be reduced by £14 a week to £86 if you have one spare bedroom, and by £25 a week to £75 if you have two or more spare bedrooms. Your universal credit or housing benefit entitlement will then be calculated using this reduced amount.

BACK TO START

Discretionary housing payments

If your housing benefit has been restricted in spite of the need of a disabled adult or child in your household to have a separate bedroom, then you should make an application for a ‘discretionary housing payment’ (DHP).

Most local authorities have a form on which to request DHPs. If your local authority does not, write a letter instead. The authority may ask for detailed information about your circumstances and those of your household. Explain these fully, including any disability needs that anyone has.

The government has issued guidance to councils to give priority to people whose homes have had significant disability adaptations and those adults with long-term medical conditions or disabilities that create difficulties in sharing a bedroom.

The housing benefit appeals system does not apply to DHPs, but you have the right to ask the local authority to look again at its decision if you are dissatisfied.

The DWP has published a Discretionary Housing Payments Guidance Manual

BACK TO START