Axe The Bedroom Tax Now!

ID: Poster that reads: 'Axe The Bedroom Tax Now! No evictions, cap rents not benefits, hands off Disability Living Allowance and the Independent Living Fund'. This poster was created by the Anti Bedroom Tax and Benefit Justice Federation in 2014 in response to the Under Occupation Penalty, more widely known as the ‘Bedroom Tax’. Introduced in April 2013, this penalty reduces the amount of Housing Benefit a social housing tenant can receive if their home is deemed as ‘larger than they need’ by their local council. Social housing tenants will lose 14% of their ‘eligible rent’ allowance for each bedroom that is considered under-occupied or 'spare'. As the poster argues, the Bedroom Tax disproportionately impacts disabled people. Those particularly affected are disabled people who have adapted rooms for their care, which have been counted as an ‘extra bedroom’ despite not being used as a bedroom. Few exceptions are considered, such as extra rooms being used by overnight carers or disabled people who cannot share a bedroom. The poster also urges people to fight to protect Disability Living Allowance, a form of benefit for disabled people, and the Independent Living Fund (ILF), a grant that provides funds to help disabled people live independently. The Independent Living Fund closed to new applications in 2015. Disability Living Allowance is in the process of being replaced with other benefits, such as the Personal Independence Payment. Many disabled people’s lives are severely impacted by the threat of losing their benefits. and organisations like the Anti Bedroom Tax and Benefit Justice Federation were set up to protect their rights, as well as those of all social housing tenants.