Thousands of Council House Tenants Forced To House Swap
In a bold move to cut down on public spending, the government are now proposing plans to implement a house swap scheme on council house tenants who are living in properties that are bigger than they need. And we can see why…
During a recent study it was revealed that whilst 234,000 households across the social tenant sector are over-crowded, a further 456,000 are under-occupied and have got at least one bedroom lying vacant and unused.
In addition, this study also revealed that 1.159m property investments have got more rooms than is necessary for a family of their size.
Unsurprisingly, the government have now divulged plans to force hundreds of thousands of tenants, who are considered to be of working age, to swap their homes for ones of a more appropriate size.
Yet this is not the worst of it…
In a further attempt to cut down on spending, the Work and Pensions department have also revealed plans to slash housing benefit payments to all tenants who are found to be living in properties that are too big for them. By cutting their benefits, which currently allow them to claim up to half of their rent, this will force them to move into smaller accommodation.
As of yet, exact capping figures have not been agreed, however property advisors are predicting that overall weekly caps will be set at £250 for a 1 bed, £290 for a 2 bed, £340 for a 3 bed and £400 for a 4 bed – a cut that will reduce the highest amount individuals will receive from housing benefit from £104,000 to just over £20,000 a year.
Related posts:
Leave a Reply