Bed tax to hit rural areas ‘hardest’

A report by the Commission for Rural Communities (CRC) says the Whitehall crackdown on social housing under-occupancy will have a “disproportionate” impact upon the countryside due to the shortage of one bedroom accommodation in remote areas.

The raft of welfare reforms introduced by the Coalition include measures to slash housing benefit by up to a quarter for tenants with one or more spare room, amidst concern about the number of people on benefits living in houses larger than they actually need.

Ministers want to tackle the acute shortage of housing around the UK, which is causing long waiting lists and over-crowding.

The National Housing Federation says the move could cost families on benefits up to £1,400 a year, leaving them to either make up the difference themselves or move to smaller accommodation.

But the independent CRC warns of a “scarcity” of smaller alternative properties in rural areas for individuals, couples and small families to move into, if they cannot afford their additional rent following the welfare reforms.

The new report states: “The housing benefit reductions for working age social tenants who under-occupy their homes are likely to hit hardest in rural areas.

“In rural areas, a higher proportion of working age benefit-recipients are under-occupying, there are fewer overcrowded households with whom they might swap, and there is a smaller supply of one-bedroomed properties available for re-letting each year to which they could move.

“The likelihood is that most households affected will not be able to move, and will have to pay the shortfall in housing benefits from their benefits or earnings.”

The CRC says there is a “pressing need for new provision of one-bedroom houses in rural areas”.

Andrew George, the Liberal Democrat rural spokesman, who voted against the “bedroom tax”, said: “In rural areas people don’t have a choice. The Government said they would monitor the situation so I hope Ministers take heed of the report.”

However, Anne McIntosh, Conservative chairwoman of the Environment Select Committee and the MP for Thirsk and Malton, said there is a “groundswell of support” for the Government’s welfare reforms, and suggested the changes may have a positive impact on rural North Yorkshire.

“Somewhere like Ryedale has a particular problem in that the cost of housing generally is higher than what people earn, and so you have to be careful the housing benefit is not actually distorting the market,” she said. “Affordability is a big issue, and so is the availability of housing for families. I know from experience there are one- and two-bedroom houses in our market towns. If we can encourage people to move into accommodation that’s more suitable, that can free up larger properties for families in rural areas.”

A spokesman for the Department for Work and Pensions said the Government did not expect large numbers of people would have to move because of the welfare changes.

The Whitehall department said action is required because five million people are trapped on housing waiting lists.

The spokesman said: “It’s right that we ask tenants living in homes that are larger then their needs to make contributions towards their rent, or move to more appropriately sized accommodation.

“The system has been left to spiral out of control and these reforms will restore fairness.”