Quids In Issue 33 Winter 2016

THE BUZZ
The latest news affecting you and your finances
70,000 TENANTS FACE
APRIL RENT SHOCK
Now higher earners in social
housing must ‘pay to stay’
Social tenant households earning more than £31k (£40k
in London) face rocketing rent from April, as ‘pay to stay’
adds average £1,065 a year @quidsinmagazine
Rents on households with combined earnings
of more than £31,000 (or £40,000 in London)
will rocket by over a grand a year from April, the
government plans.
Described as a new ‘tenant tax’, better off
residents in social housing could be expected to
pay nearer the market levels charged by private
landlords.
The Department of Communities and Local
Government has defended the changes, saying they
end the days of subsidised lifestyles for people on
higher-than-average incomes.
It has been criticised, however, for failing to
allow enough time for local councils to prepare and
notify tenants who will be affected and the Local
Government Association has claimed collection
“costs will outweigh the additional rent collected”.
70,255 tenants are expected to be affected
with an average increase of £1,052 a year. The extra
charge is complex: 15p a week will be added for
every pound above the threshold that a household
brings home. It is understood that outside London,
a couple earning £35,000 between them would be
charged £600 extra a year, which is £11.53 a week.
Critics believe the scheme, announced by
former Chancellor George Osborne, would only
bring in a quarter of the expected income to
government coffers.
Video of the issue
TELLING IT LIKE IT IS?
Scene from Ken Loach’s film I, Daniel
Blake taking on Job Centre Plus
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