We can beat the Bedroom Tax
I’ve cut back on every little thing I have. I’m eating one meal a day and not putting the heating on, all so I can pay this tax. £12 a week is everything when you can only afford £30 a fortnight on shopping before paying the bedroom tax.” The introduction of the hated ConDem bedroom tax has been met with a whirlwind of opposition and anger. Thousands of people have attended public meetings, marched on demonstrations and protested to politicians and social landlords demanding the scrapping of the bedroom tax.
Anti-bedroom tax campaigns have been set-up across Scotland and the rest of Britain to organise to defeat the tax and defend those who cannot and will not pay.
The impact on people’s lives has been devastating, as the above quote from a person affected in Dundee shows. The case of Stephanie Botrill who killed herself after losing £20 a week from her housing benefit illustrated the human cost of the bedroom tax. Stephanie wrote to her son before committing suicide, “Don’t blame yourself for me ending my life. The only people to blame are the government.”
In the last few weeks the brutal realities of the bedroom tax have become clear. 660,000 of the poorest households in Britain, many of them people with disabilities, have been targeted by the ConDem’s.
£500 million is being stolen from housing benefit, with the tenant responsible for making up the shortfall. How is it possible for people already living in dire poverty to pay? The truth is it’s not and the figures prove it.
Housing Associations revealed in May that thousands of their tenants had immediately fallen into rent arrears as a result of the bedroom tax. In Liverpool the Riverside Group said 50% of their 6,000 affected tenants have not paid anything in bedroom tax. Only a quarter paid the full amount in the first month. Wakefield in Yorkshire said 42% had underpaid their rent. In Glasgow 66% of Housing Association tenants have under paid.
What these figures clearly show is that the bedroom tax cannot be afforded. Moreover, many tenants that have tried to pay will not be able to sustain payment.
Thousands are applying for help through the pitifully small “Discretionary Housing Fund” but are being refused. Nor are there anything like enough council or HA homes to rehouse people who do want to move to a small home.
If there are any attempts to evict tenants by councils or HA’s this will be opposed tooth and nail by the anti-bedroom tax federation. Just as we stopped all attempted warrant sales during the poll tax – we will ensure that we build an anti-eviction army to defend anyone threatened by evictions.
The so-called “under occupancy” charge is nothing more than daylight robbery. Government ministers who have 6, 7 and 8 bedroom homes are telling working class families they have to suffer to bailout the bankers and the capitalist system that the ConDem’s are defending.
It’s time to end this brutal protection racket for the rich.? It’s time to fightback.
Axe the Bedroom Tax. Rally and Demo. Saturday 1st June George Square, Glasgow 12 noon.
This protection racket has to end. We say:
- Scrap the bedroom tax
- Scrap the bedroom tax and write-off all the debt
- Defend all those who cannot or will not pay
- No evictions for rent arrears due to the tax or austerity cuts. Build an anti-eviction army.
- End all cuts – tax the bankers and the billionaires not bedrooms
- For a programme of new council house building to meet social need
- Build a mass movement against austerity starting with a 24-hour general strike organised by the trade unions
Don’t implement the bedroom tax
There are an estimated 105,000 households affected in Scotland by the bedroom tax. Almost one-in-six of all those affected live in Scotland, a result of the high concentration of social housing. No-one doubts that the millionaires government, the Tory and LibDem coalition is responsible for the brutality of the bedroom tax. Both SNP and Labour politicians have said they are opposed to the tax, but they have the powers to act to stop it now.
Both councils and the Scottish government have real powers to ensure that the bedroom tax is not implemented in Scotland. What is lacking is the political will to do so.
Scottish government
The SNP have an overall majority in Holyrood and could move immediately to make the bedroom tax a dead letter in Scotland. This could be done by providing Councils and HA’s with the £52 million that is being deducted from housing benefit by the ConDem’s and then helping to build a campaign with the trade unions and anti-cuts movement for a return of that money from Westminster.
This would not affect current spending by the government. For example in 2011/12 the underspend was £179 million, this is a typical figure for an annual underspend.
Less than one-third of that would mean no-one in Scotland would need to pay bedroom tax – at least for a year – giving time for a campaign to be built. Ironically, the SNP government have done this by providing councils with money to offset the effects of the cuts to council tax benefit enforced by the Tories.
There is no reason, other than political will, why this cannot be done to protect the poorest 105,000 households in Scotland.
The SNP also have the power to immediately change the legislation to end the threat of evictions for bedroom tax by amending Section 16 of the Scottish Housing Act. The Socialist Party Scotland believes that evictions for rent arrears arising from austerity and cuts, including the bedroom tax, should be outlawed.
We also demand that the SNP use their powers to write off all debt arising from the bedroom tax.
Councils
In some ways councils have even more powers than the Scottish government to refuse to implement the bedroom tax.
A council can use their reserves and their legal borrowing powers as a temporary measure to access money to cover for the impact of the bedroom tax. They can also refuse to harass tenants including lifting the threat to carry out evictions.
Politicians must fight all cuts
The bedroom tax is just one of a tsunami of cuts affecting working class people and public spending. We bailed out the banks and the capitalist system and now we’re being asked to pay the bill.
Socialist Party Scotland demands that Labour and SNP councillors refuse to make the cuts and use the powers they do have to mitigate against cuts to jobs, pay and public services.
Disgracefully, not a single councillor or MSP from Labour or the SNP has been prepared to vote against cuts and help build a mass campaign against austerity.
Liverpool
30 years ago this year, a socialist council led by supporters of Militant (the forerunner of the Socialist Party) was elected in Liverpool.
From 1983 until 1987 the council refused to make the cuts and instead fought the Thatcher government winning £30 million for the city. The Liverpool council and the working class of the city defeated the Tory government and the so-called iron lady and built new council houses, sports centres and nurseries.
They set budgets based on the needs of the people and fought for the money to implement those promises.
Today the Liverpool Road – councillors and MSPs standing up for the people who elected them and refusing to make cuts – is the only way to stand up and fight the ConDem’s and halt the austerity juggernaut.
A new party needed
If Labour and the SNP won’t stand up and fight, what do we do ? Labour may form the next Westminster government, but Ed Milliband and Ed Balls have refused to pledge to reverse any of the cuts made by the ConDem’s. The SNP have passed on billions in Tory cuts to the people of Scotland. The only alternative is to stand our own candidates, committed to opposing all cuts and fighting to defend our communities.
The work of the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition, which has stood anti-cuts candidates in recent elections, is a good example to follow.
TUSC involves the RMT trade union, the Socialist Party as well as anti-cuts and community campaigners.
We also stand for the building of a new mass working class party. Why should it be that only the interests of the rich and big business be entitled to political representation?
We need a party to stand up for the millions. The trade unions that are affiliated to Labour should break that link now and help build a new party for the working class.
Socialism
Never-ending cuts and austerity for the majority are all this rotten system of capitalism has to offer. While we face savage cuts the elite, big business and the billionaires, get even richer. We stand for a socialist society based on democratic ownership and control of the banks, big industry and production to release the massive wealth created by us to end the cuts, create jobs and secure a decent future for our young people.
Capitalism has failed. Every one of the gains we’ve made in the past are being taken away, our jobs, welfare, pensions, education – you name it. We need to build a mass campaign to defeat the bedroom tax, to end all the cuts and to finish with a system that’s creating so mush misery for so many.
Socialist Party Scotland
Socialist Party Scotland members are playing a leading role in the anti-bedroom tax campaign. We were the first organisation on the left in Scotland to turn decisively to oppose this brutal attack on the poorest. From early February we began organising a series of public meetings in working class housing schemes across Scotland.
Our approach was to seek to establish local anti-bedroom tax campaigns that involved those directly affected, alongside everyone who wanted to fight the Bedroom Tax. All these meetings, built by systematic leafleting of areas of social housing, postering and street stalls produced large, angry working class public meetings. We proposed the setting-up of organising committees to plan and organise the campaign.
We also took the battle against the tax to local council meetings and Housing Associations to demand they adopt a policy of no evictions. These also proved to be successful, gaining widespread media coverage for the campaign.
The example of building local meetings and seeking to build local campaigns also immediately raised the need for bringing these campaigns together in a democratic structure.
Poll tax battle
The example of the anti-poll tax federations, pioneered by the work of Militant – the forerunner of the Socialist Party – in the late 1980’s was widely seen as the next step. The establishment of the West of Scotland Federation and the Dundee wide campaign, with Socialist Party Scotland members playing a crucial role, were vital steps forward.
The 5,000 plus demonstration in Glasgow and the 2,000 strong demo in Edinburgh on March 30th was a turning point. These protests were an indication that an organised movement of opposition had arrived.
In the run-up to the 30th March demonstrations scores of public meetings were organised in local communities across Scotland. Most of these were very large and very political meetings – not just opposed to the Bedroom Tax – but the panoply of austerity being doled out of the ConDem’s.
The April 27th all Scotland Federation conference was a great success bringing 250 people representing over 50 local campaigns together, voting to set-up a national campaign.
24-hour general strike
We need to build this campaign and link it to the struggles of trade unionists and communities who are fighting cuts.
Socialist Party members are calling for a 24 – hour general strike by the trade unions against the ConDem austerity. This would be a huge boost for the Bedroom Tax campaign.
- Build the anti-bedroom tax and anti-eviction armies in every community and build the Scottish Anti-Bedroom Tax Federation
- Stand candidates against those politicians who attempt evictions and who won’t fight the cuts. Build a new mass working class party involving young people, trade unionists and anti-cuts campaigners for a political alternative to the pro-cuts parties
- Tax the boardrooms not bedrooms. Make the super-rich pay for their crisis. Nationalise the banks and big industry under democratic working class control
- End low pay – create jobs for all
- For a socialist alternative to cuts and capitalism. We need a democratic socialist plan of production based on the interests of the majority – not the rich elite
I can’t pay the bedroom tax. What should I do ?
Join your local Anti-Bedroom Tax Campaign today. Email antibedtaxfed@gmail.com. If there is not a local group why not set one up in your area.
How do I set up a campaign ?
Book a room in a community centre, school or local pub for a public meeting. Print some leaflets and go door-to-door in areas where there are lots of council or housing association homes. Put up posters in the local shops. Contact the federation if you would like a speaker or help with leaflets.
When you have the meeting – ask for volunteers for a steering committee and affiliate your local campaign to the Federation.
What happens now ?
Everyone affected by the Bedroom Tax has been sent a letter by the council’s revenue department telling them how much housing benefit will be cut. Tenant’s can:
Ask the council to look again at the decision and fill in a disputes form: (see www.govanhillc.com/brtax/. However, this needs to be done within one month of receiving your letter.
Should I apply for the “discretionary housing fund” for help ?
Yes. This is a small pot of money that councils have to help tenants. You should apply regardless of whether you think you will get it. An application for a payment can be used as evidence that you have tried to gain access to money to help with the Bedroom Tax.
Should I move to the private rented sector ?
In general, No. This is even more expensive than council or Housing Association properties, and very often of a much lower quality of housing.
If you genuinely want to move to a smaller council or Housing Association home ask your landlord to put you on a list.
However, councils and HA’s simply don’t have the smaller properties available to house people affected by the bedroom tax. For the vast majority it’s a case of Can’t Pay – Will Stay.
Should I take out a Direct Debit to the council or social landlord ?
No. If you already have a Direct Debit to the council for other housing costs (insurance etc) this could be increased to cover your Bedroom Tax and you will have less money for food, bills etc
What can my landlord do to get the Bedroom Tax ?
Initially, Councils and Housing Associations are phoning, writing to and visiting tenants who cannot pay due to the deductions from their Housing Benefit.
They are hoping to apply pressure on tenants to make a payment arrangement to prevent a big loss in rental income to the landlord. Social landlords need to understand that people cannot pay the bedroom tax. – we are not the enemy. They should stand by their tenants and demand the scrapping of the Bedroom Tax.
It is worthwhile explaining to your landlord why you cannot pay the Bedroom Tax, that your income and expenditure leaves no room for the Bedroom tax to be paid. This explanation can help later on if the landlord attempts to push for an eviction.
What happens if I can’t or won’t pay the Bedroom Tax ?
Letters will be sent telling you that you are in rent arrears. These may come out very soon. Don’t ignore these letters, contact the council and your local Welfare Rights team and Citizens Advice Bureau, community legal teams etc. Tell them you can’t pay and the reasons why.
At a certain point court proceedings can be used for debt recovery. If you get such a letter phone for advice. If you are threatened with a court hearing contact the local anti-bedroom tax campaign or the Federation immediately.
Councils and HA’s can also try for deduction of benefit for rent arrears. There is a standard practice of a deduction for rent arrears of around £3.65 a week from benefit. We demand all bedroom tax debt be written off and the money won back from the ConDem government.
Will I be evicted if I don’t pay ?
Normal practice would mean a move to evict a tenant for rent arrears would begin when you have fallen three months or more in arrears – around £1,000 plus.
The majority of a tenants’ rent is still covered by Housing Benefit. So it could take up to a year or more to build up enough arrears, due to non-payment of the Bedroom Tax, to trigger an eviction process. However, some Housing Associations and councils
What should I do if I get a letter threatening eviction ?
Before an eviction a tenant would have the right to be heard in front of a sheriff who has to take account of a number of factors.
These include: Why did the rent arrears occur ? What are the consequences of eviction for you and your family? The length of time you have been a tenant with the landlord and your record etc. What did the landlord do to give you advice on Housing Benefit and other types of financial assistance?’
A legal representative could argue that a tenant did not have the money to make up for the cut in Housing Benefit due to Bedroom Tax. If a tenant had applied for a discretionary payment, even if the council refused to pay it, this could be used to prove they tried to get help. If a tenant was on a list for a smaller home but had not been offered a suitable move, this could also be used to argue against eviction.
In other words a request for an eviction by a landlord is not a straightforward process and can be stalled or overturned. The campaign can and will ensure that no one goes to court on their own. We will seek legal advice to give guidance and support for you as well.
Above all, even if an eviction order was granted the Federation will mobilise to physically prevent Sheriff Officers from removing a tenant from their home as a result of being unable to pay the Bedroom Tax.
How do we fight this ?
Join the anti-bedroom tax campaign today. Massive pressure must be put on Councils and Housing Associations and the Scottish government not to evict tenants and to write off all debt arising from the Bedroom Tax.
Many councils have said they will not evict if tenants are “seen to have made every effort to pay.” We need to keep up the pressure on Councils and HA’s to adopt a strict No evictions policy.
The Scottish government must change the law to outlaw evictions for Bedroom Tax arrears. This could be done tomorrow.
We have and will continue to lobby, protest and demonstrate to demand the politicians act to stop this attacks on the poorest.
What should I demand that my councillor and MSP do to help fight this tax ?
Councils could refuse to implement this tax and temporarily use their borrowing powers and any reserves to assist tenants while working with the campaign to build a mass movement to defeat the tax.
The Scottish government in particular could reimburse all councils and Housing Associations for losses and effectively make the Bedroom Tax null and void. The SNP government should do this now and fight for the money from the ConDem government.
Councils and HA’s could redesignate their properties as having fewer bedrooms. This has already happened on a small scale in North Ayrshire, Leeds and some other areas.
This is a fight we can and have to win. If we stick together we can defeat the Bedroom Tax, all the cuts and bring down this rotten government of the rich.
