This briefing focuses on the impact of the Bedroom Tax on citizens advice bureaux and clients in its first eight months and calls for some client groups to be exempted completely rather than helped through the short-term solution of Discretionary Housing Payments.
Citizens Advice Scotland recommends that households who meet the following criteria should be exempt from under-occupancy charges:
- Where the home has been significantly adapted to meet a member of the household’s needs.
- If the household includes a couple who are unable to share a bedroom due to medical conditions
- If a room is required for medical treatment or for storing bulky or substantial medical equipment that could not be stored elsewhere
- In temporary homeless accommodation owned by local authorities.
Publication date:
December 2013
Publication type:
Policy
Number of pages:
7
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