Housing benefit cuts threaten rent payments

THE city council is facing a “looming cliff of rent shortfalls” when cuts to housing benefits kick in from April.
By The Newsroom
Published 22nd Jan 2013, 12:00 BST

Thousands of social housing tenants with a spare bedroom face being hit by the new Westminster “bedroom tax”.

Those with one spare bedroom face a 14 per cent reduction in benefits, while those with two or more will lose 25 per cent and tenants will have to pay the difference.

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As the Evening News reported last week, council chiefs are attempting to plug the shortfall for the worst off, by finding at least some of the £4 million needed.

Steve Burgess, housing spokesman for the Edinburgh Greens, backed the bid to soften the blow by subsidising rent. He said: “The city council can sit back and let courts decide if it’s reasonable to evict tenants who fall behind or it can come up with a package to take the rough edges away.”