If you rent from a council or housing association and you are considered to have more bedrooms than you need, your housing support can be cut under a rule officially called the removal of the spare room subsidy, and widely known as the bedroom tax. It has caused real hardship for many social tenants. This guide explains how the bedroom tax works, who it affects, the exemptions, and what you can do about it.
What the bedroom tax is
The bedroom tax reduces the housing support of working-age social housing tenants who are deemed to have one or more spare bedrooms. If you have one more bedroom than the rules say you need, your eligible rent for housing support is cut by 14%. If you have two or more spare bedrooms, it is cut by 25%. The reduction is taken from the rent used to work out your Universal Credit housing element or Housing Benefit, so you have to make up the difference yourself.
Who it affects
The bedroom tax only applies to working-age tenants renting from a council or housing association. It does not apply to private renters, whose support is set by the Local Housing Allowance instead, and it does not apply to people over State Pension age. So if you or your partner have reached State Pension age, you are generally protected from the bedroom tax, which is an important point for older social tenants.
How many bedrooms you are allowed
The rules allow one bedroom for each adult couple, one for each other adult aged 16 or over, one for any two children under 10 regardless of gender, and one for any two children of the same gender aged under 16, with separate rooms once children are older or of different genders. If your home has more bedrooms than this allows, the spare ones count towards the bedroom tax, unless an exemption applies.
The main exemptions
Several situations mean a room is not counted as spare. These include a room used by a non-resident carer who stays overnight to provide care, a room for a child who cannot share because of a disability or medical condition, and a room kept for a child in the armed forces who is away on operations. Foster carers are usually allowed a room for fostering, and there are protections in some other situations. If you think an exemption should apply to you, it is important to raise it.
Disability and the bedroom tax
The rules around disability are particularly important. As well as the room for an overnight carer and for a child who cannot share, there have been legal cases establishing that some disabled people are entitled to an extra room, for example where a couple cannot share because of a disability, or where a room is needed for equipment. If a disability affects your need for space, get advice, as you may be entitled to an exemption that is not always applied automatically.
The recently bereaved
If someone in your household dies, you are usually protected from the bedroom tax for a period afterwards, so that you are not immediately penalised for having a spare room at a time of grief. This protection gives you some breathing space before the rules are applied. If you are recently bereaved and your housing support is reduced, check whether this protection should apply to you.
What you can do about it
If you are affected by the bedroom tax, you have several options. You can apply for a Discretionary Housing Payment from your council to help with the shortfall, especially while you sort out a longer-term solution. You could consider taking in a lodger, which can change how the room is treated, or moving to a smaller home, though suitable homes can be hard to find. You can also challenge the decision if you think a room has been wrongly counted or an exemption missed.
Challenging a bedroom tax decision
If you believe the bedroom tax has been applied wrongly, for example because a room is too small to count as a bedroom, or because an exemption applies, you can challenge the decision. Start by asking for it to be looked at again, and get advice, as there is case law about what counts as a bedroom and who is entitled to an extra room. A successful challenge can remove the reduction and may lead to a refund.
What counts as a bedroom
The rules do not define a bedroom by size, which has led to disputes, because a very small room may be counted as a bedroom even if it is too small to use as one. There has been legal argument about this, and in some cases tenants have successfully argued that a room is too small or unsuitable to count. If you think a room being counted against you is not really a usable bedroom, it is worth getting advice about challenging the decision.
Taking in a lodger
One way to deal with a spare room is to take in a lodger. This can remove the spare bedroom from the calculation, and the rent a lodger pays can help with your housing costs, although it may affect your benefits in other ways, so it needs thinking through. Taking in a lodger is not right for everyone, but for some tenants it is a practical way to make use of a spare room and avoid the bedroom tax.
The impact on tenants
The bedroom tax has been controversial because suitable smaller homes are often not available, leaving tenants penalised for under-occupying when they cannot realistically move. Many affected tenants are disabled or have lived in their home for a long time. Understanding the exemptions and the help available, such as Discretionary Housing Payments, is therefore important, as is getting advice, because there are often ways to reduce or avoid the impact that are not obvious at first.
Moving to a smaller home
For some tenants, moving to a smaller home is the way to avoid the bedroom tax, but suitable smaller properties are often in short supply, and a move can mean leaving a long-standing home and community. If you want to move, ask your landlord about transfer and mutual exchange schemes, which can help social tenants swap homes. Getting your name down early and exploring all the options gives you the best chance of finding somewhere that suits you.
Get your situation checked
Because the exemptions and the rules on what counts as a bedroom are not always applied correctly, it is well worth having your situation checked by an adviser if the bedroom tax affects you. They can confirm whether the right number of rooms has been counted, whether an exemption applies, and whether a Discretionary Housing Payment or a challenge is worth pursuing, which can make a real difference to what you have to pay.
In short
The bedroom tax cuts the housing support of working-age social tenants with spare bedrooms by 14% for one spare room or 25% for two or more. Pensioners and private renters are not affected. Exemptions exist for carers, disabled people and others, so check whether one applies, and consider a Discretionary Housing Payment, a lodger, or a challenge if you are affected.
Where to get help
Citizens Advice and your council can help you check exemptions, challenge a decision, or apply for help. See our guides to the Universal Credit housing element and Discretionary Housing Payments.