A council has declared that none of its social tenants will be evicted if they cannot afford to pay the government’s forthcoming bedroom tax.
Brighton & Hove City Council has become the first local authority in the country to take such a stance.
From 24dash.com
Councillor Liz Wakefield said: “The so-called ‘spare room subsidy’ is yet more immoral and harmful legislation from this morality-free coalition government.
“As Greens, we cannot throw people out onto the streets just because they’re unable to pay it. I will therefore be bringing proposals that seek to ensure no household will be evicted from a Brighton and Hove City Council owned home as a result of ‘spare room subsidy’ rent arrears accrued solely from that household’s inability to pay this unjust bedroom tax.”
She added that steps would be taken to ensure that tenants don’t take advantage of the proposals, and that officers would have to be satisfied that those pushed into arrears by the bedroom tax were doing everything they could to pay their rent.
Brighton Pavilion MP, Caroline Lucas, is also backing the proposals. She said: “The so-called bedroom tax legislation is not only morally wrong and a cause of great potential hardship, it is also unworkable in a city with a long waiting list for smaller properties.
“The council cannot downsize households on the scale required by the government, nor would we want it to, and we should not be prepared to evict hard-pressed families, the disabled and other vulnerable people purely because they are unable to pay this unjust levy on a home they either cannot or should not have to leave.”
Chair of Brighton & Hove Green Party, Rob Shepherd, said: “This government is willing to see people thrown out onto the streets purely because they can’t pay their bedroom tax.
“They can be sentenced to homelessness simply for trying to maintain a normal, liveable family home. The Conservative and LibDem coalition government should be ashamed of itself and, as Greens, we will have no part of it.
“I congratulate the party and councillors who are taking such a principled stand. We call on the other parties to support us in protecting, in this way, some of our most vulnerable residents.”
Swindon Tenants Campaign Group 
Now this response by a Council, is the sort of ethical stance I want to see! Brilliant. Well done the Green party. This also goes to show that no Council is obliged to carry out this sleazy governments immoral and callous policy changes.
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Well done Brighton & Hove City Council , other UK Councils need to take note Of the brave move .
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This is brilliant news, my heartest congratulations to the councils who have taken on this greedy goverment and has said NO our tennants mean more to us than money, I hope all councils sit up and take note, come on this is supposed to be a free country do not let it become a dictatorship stand up and be heard, speak out and say No we will not allow you to take more money off us when already we live just above the bread line. Also when we signed up for our council homes they were for LIFE, now that is being taken away from us by the greedy polaticians who are allowed to have TWO homes payed for by tax payers.All my family are grown up and left, myself and my wife live in a 3 b’room house, the 2 spare rooms are for our grandchildren when they come to visit and stay over, but due to both of us with ill health we can=not afford to keep the home we have lived in for 26years, all our children call home.
THANKS A LOT YOU GREEDY SELFISH GOVERMENT.
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well all i can say is a massive well done Brighton and if all councils stood for there people like Brighton then we would’nt have any problems
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Dundee council pledge not to evict tenants hit by the bedroom tax
http://newssy.net/en/c_Regional(United+Kingdom)/s_Scotland/w_Dundee/n_5374726.html
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Not only are the peasants revolting the council’s are as well, brilliant.
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Brilliant, some people have morals,going to checkout where our local council stand on this
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if the other councils stood their ground and followed their consciences also this disgusting policy will go!
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I applaud their decision but will that mean rents will rise due to these arrears?
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Hi, I have been talking to my local council officals and they can’t understand how they can state that no tenants will be evicted. They said it does not work, and yes the rent and rates will have to rise to cover the cost because the council(even if in a well to do area) can’t afford to allow people to not pay. Imagine if everyone said I am not going to pay, but it does’nt matter because the council said they won’t evict us then each council will be broke very quickly.
We would not have any sanitation,road repairs,schools many other things far too numerous to mention of which we all rely on each and every day, it makes you think.
But after saying all that I still feel that the bedroom tax is unfair and unjust, making the poor poorer to help this greedy insane goverment to dictate to us how to live, it is supossed to be a free country,YEAH RIGHT who ever said that I hope they are chocking on their words.
A BIG BOO TO THE BEDROOM TAX AND THIS CRUEL GOVERMENT
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