How I helped a man with a degenerative spinal disease beat the bedroom tax
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http://www.theguardian.com/housing-network/2015/dec/10/bedroom-tax-degenerative-disease-rent-arrears Version 0 of 1. One of my more vulnerable tenants suffers from spinocerebellar ataxia, a neurodegenerative disease, and relies on carers twice a day. When his marriage broke down his teenage daughter went to live with her mother. But she regularly stays with her dad – a relationship he treasures dearly. When the bedroom tax came into effect our tenant found himself liable for a charge he simply could not afford. With his home adapted for his disability, and the need for a spare room for his daughter, moving was not an option. At this point, the benefit support officers helped him claim discretionary housing payment (DHP) to help with the shortfall. Sadly, like many local authorities, the pot ran desperately low and the tenant had his DHP support withdrawn. He got into rent arrears. When we broke the news to him of his exemption his emotion was palpable. I do my job for moments like this. When the arrears reached more than £1,000 I was called in. I’m part of a specialist financial inclusion team at Hyde Group housing association, which affords me a little leeway to fight for some of our more vulnerable residents. It’s notoriously hard to get an exemption from the bedroom tax and having failed on our first attempt, I started to knock on every door I could think of at the council to see how else we could help. Eventually I found someone willing to sit down with me to discuss the resident’s situation. This is often the key: humanising cases, so they are not just numbers. The council agreed something needed to be done, but the DHP budget was gone. Luckily, (and perhaps in their desperation to stop me calling) they managed to find the funds from another budget and stave off an eviction notice. Having the rent arrears brought under control was a great relief to our resident, but it was only temporary because the payment was a one-off lump sum. Five months later, he was again in rent arrears. Every time I spoke with him I could see that he was getting closer to breaking point. After failing to get him exempt from the bedroom tax I decided to look for other avenues that would help ease the financial burden, such as council tax exemption. Once again I knew the key was humanising the case for the local authority and I spoke to a number of people from various teams. This time, it was a visiting inspector who realised that with the home adaptions and family situation moving was simply not a viable option for our resident. It took a ton of paperwork, but he was finally granted a 100% exemption from his council tax. Related: 'We've had to go without food' – personal stories of the bedroom tax I then decided to have one more go at getting bedroom tax exemption as well – the case was far more robust after securing council tax exemption, as a team from the council had already deemed that our resident was not in a position to move home. It took another mountain of paperwork, but we were eventually successful. Throughout what was an incredibly trying process for him and his family, which took an immense psychological and physical toll, this man remained dignified. But when we broke the news to him of his exemption his emotion was palpable. I do my job for moments like this. With the budget cuts, and more on the horizon, it would be easy for people like him to slip through the cracks. This makes it even more important that teams like ours step into the breach to help some of the country’s most vulnerable people stay in their homes. Sanela Cox is a housing association financial inclusion officer Sign up for your free Guardian Housing network newsletter with news and analysis sent direct to you every Friday. Follow us: @GuardianHousing |