2
Welfare Reform Bedroom Tax
If you are below pensionable age, in receipt of Housing Benefit and you have one or more spare bedrooms, your housing benefit is reduced. You need to pay the difference, commonly known as the bedroom tax, yourself. If you are having difficulty paying this, please contact us as soon as possible and we will do our best to help you and provide advice. We have staff who are able to help anyone affected by the bedroom tax who wants to move to a smaller home. We have already helped a number of residents move to accommodation that suits their needs. If you would like to move to a smaller home please contact us.
Universal Credit
Universal Credit is due to come to Plymouth in 2015 as part of the national roll out by government. Universal Credit is the new single payment for people who are looking for work or on a low income. It replaces a range of working-age benefits including Job Seekers Allowance, Income Support, Employment & Support Allowance, Child Tax Credits, Working Tax Credits and Housing Benefit with a single calendar monthly payment.
As you know, if you are currently in receipt of housing benefit, this can be paid directly to us as your landlord. Under Universal Credit, this will be paid to you with all your other benefits and you will then need to pay us your rent. We realise that this is a big change but we will do everything we can to make this as easy as possible for you. We have already started contacting people who we think may be affected to see if there is anything that they are concerned about or if they need any additional support. If we speak to you about it, we will need to ask you a lot of personal questions about your income, your outgoings and any debts you have – this information will be held in complete confidence. It is important that you are honest with us so that we can give you the right advice and help if you need it.
If you would like to find out more about Universal Credit and how it may affect you, contact our Income Recovery and Financial Inclusion Team on 0800 028 0350 or 01752 388121