Bedroom tax will see thousands in Shropshire lose out

Figures from Shropshire Council show 2,130 tenants in the county will be affected by new charges being introduced to people living in under-occupied social housing.

Under the controversial tax, tenants on benefits will lose a percentage of their rent according to how many empty bedrooms they have in their properties.

Tenants under occupying by one bedroom will receive a 14 per cent reduction in their rent, while those under occupying by two bedrooms will get a 25 per cent cut.

A report to Shropshire Council's safe and confident communities' scrutiny committee revealed 1,696 tenants in the county were under-occupying by one bedroom, while a further 434 residents had two spare bedrooms.

Shropshire Councillor for Underdale, Miles Kenny warned the impact of the bedroom tax on social housing tenants would be 'horrific'.

He said: "It will have a devastating impact and it does nothing to help these people in an already difficult time.

"It will have to come out of nowhere

"It will have a knock-on effect on the local area as these people will be spending less in the shops."

Mr Kenny said many people would want to move to avoid the tax – but he warned there was a shortage of smaller properties in the county.

"There are just not enough smaller properties around for people to move into. This is going to cause a lot of problems but there will be nothing we can do."

Chief Executive of Shropshire's Citizens Advice, Jackie Jeffrey, urged people concerned about the changes to get in touch.

She said: "We are very concerned about the impact of under occupancy charges."

For more information visit www.cabshropshire.org.uk or call 08444 99 11 00.