A YOUNG mum is the first person in Derby to be threatened with eviction
because of the so-called
bedroom tax.
Renleigh Anderson, 28, who has two young children, said the uncertainty of the last few weeks had been "hugely stressful".
The single mum has seen her housing benefits cut by £12 a week because, under Government rules, she is
under-occupying a three-bedroom house in Sinfin.
Her son is seven and her daughter three, which means she falls foul of the rule
that children aged under 10 should share a bedroom.
But she only moved into the house in April 2012, a year before the charge was introduced, and now doesn't want to move out.
She says she doesn't have the cash to plug the hole in her finances caused by the charge, so she is now in rental arrears, which has led to the eviction threat.
Miss Anderson, a former office manager, who has been unemployed since her son was born, said: "When I moved in I had nothing. I laid the carpets, for example. I've not got the strength to do it all again. Moving wouldn't be fair on the kids."
Opponents of the charge have dubbed it the bedroom tax – but the Government refers to it as the "spare room subsidy".
It means people in social housing lose about £12 of their weekly housing benefit for having one spare room and £20 for two or more. The Government says it is encouraging people to downsize and free up empty bedrooms, as well as tackling the nation's huge benefits bill.
Derby Homes says it has spoken to Miss Anderson about downsizing but that she "doesn't want to move" and that it has done a great deal to help her.
Miss Anderson, who is due to appear in court next month, said she believed eviction would be a fruitless exercise. She said: "There's no reason to split up the family. If they did rehouse us together it would involve something like an expensive bed and breakfast.
"Then we could be on a waiting list for a long time by which time my son would be of an age where I would qualify for the three-bedroom home anyway.
"If I did move into a two-bedroom house, I'd be looking to move back into a three-bedroom soon afterwards."
Derby Homes, Derby City Council's arm's-length housing provider, says Miss Anderson has been the subject of seven face-to-face interviews, four letters offering money advice, four home visits and two interviews with the Housing Options Centre.
Miss Anderson said she had one face-to-face interview, one housing options interview and never received a home visit.
She said: "Derby Homes should have held a meeting with tenants about what to do about the bedroom tax. I
believe there are options available to help tenants
affected that we have not been made aware of."
A Derby Homes spokeswoman said: "We have made contact with all tenants who are affected by the under-occupation charge, by letter, phone and home visit,
explaining how they are
affected and how discretionary housing payments could help. This was to ensure that individual circumstances were taken into account.
"We ran an awareness raising campaign through our tenants newsletter, website, Twitter and radio."
Miss Anderson's rent has been £86.43 a week, paid for by housing benefit. That benefit has been reduced by £12.10 a week due to the charge.
A Derby Homes statement said that, as of April 1, she owed £592.90 but she was not in arrears before that date.
It said she had made an unsuccessful application for a Discretionary Housing Payment (DHP), which are awarded by the council to help people whose housing benefit does not cover their rent. It said she had not appealed and she was advised "she may be found intentionally homeless as it is her responsibility to pay the under-occupancy charge".
Miss Anderson said the council had turned down her DHP application because it believed she had the means to plug the £12.10 weekly gap.
She said: "They don't take it into account when you've got money needed to pay back loans. I owe money from a social fund loan from the
Department for Work and Pensions."
The Derby Homes statement said: "In relation to the DHP, Miss Anderson did not tell Derby City Council about any loans/debt etc, which is why they were not included in this calculation." Miss Anderson said this was not true.
Asked why Miss Anderson had been moved into a three-bedroomed house a year
before the under-occupancy charge came in, the Derby Homes spokeswoman said it had, at that time, "not been told what the guidelines for the under-occupancy charge were going to be".
Asked what the options would be for her and her children should she be evicted, she said: "Miss Anderson has been given advice by Housing Options – I cannot pre-empt a decision on her homelessness situation. Advice and assistance will always be provided."
