Under occupation figures for previous years
Housing Benefit (HB) for Council Tenants and Housing Association Tenants of working age is reduced if they are considered to have more bedrooms than they need. This is widely known as ‘the bedroom tax’ although it is a reduction of benefit rather than a tax that we issue bills for.
The dwindling caseload is partly the result of claimants moving from HB to Universal Credit (UC). The UC housing element is reduced in the same way as for HB, but numbers affected are unknown.
| Cases | April to June | July to September | October to December | January to March |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cases with reduction for one spare bedroom | 2,491 | 2,406 | 2,276 | 2,147 |
| Cases with reduction for two or more spare bedrooms | 686 | 653 | 613 | 601 |
| All cases affected | 3,177 | 3,059 | 2,889 | 2,748 |
| Average reduction | £16.34 | £16.28 | £16.30 | £16.40 |
| Cases with Discretionary Housing Payment | 342 | 322 | 319 | 291 |
| Cases needing one bedroom property | 1,883 | 1,814 | 1,746 | 1,669 |
| Cases needing two bedroom property | 1,394 | 1,245 | 1,143 | 1,079 |
Under occupation figures for 2022/23
Under occupation figures for 2021/22
| Cases | April to June | July to September | October to December | January to March |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cases with reduction for one spare bedroom | 3,649 | 3,552 | 3,429 | 3,334 |
| Cases with reduction for two or more spare bedrooms | 957 | 932 | 918 | 901 |
| All cases affected | 4,606 | 4,484 | 4,347 | 4,235 |
| Average reduction | £14.32 | £14.32 | £14.34 | £14.35 |
| Cases with Discretionary Housing Payment | 585 | 630 | 660 | 627 |
| Cases needing one bedroom property | 2,630 | 2,568 | 2,517 | 2,450 |
| Cases needing two bedroom property | 1,812 | 1,751 | 1,670 | 1,629 |
| Cases | April to June | July to September | October to December | January to March |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cases with reduction for one spare bedroom | 4,304 | 4,124 | 4,012 | 3,818 |
| Cases with reduction for two or more spare bedrooms | 1,125 | 1,075 | 1,037 | 1,005 |
| All cases affected | 5,429 | 5,199 | 5,049 | 4,823 |
| Average reduction | £14.01 | £13.99 | £13.97 | £14 |
| Cases with Discretionary Housing Payment | 530 | 425 | 544 | 506 |
| Cases needing one bedroom property | 3,042 | 2,931 | 2,848 | 2,747 |
| Cases needing two bedroom property | 2,186 | 2,075 | 2,012 | 1,898 |