Housing: Underoccupancy Charge

Baroness Quin Excerpts

Tuesday 24th June 2014 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Baroness Quin]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they expect to publish their interim review on the under-occupancy charge.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Lord Freud) (Con)]

We expect to publish the interim report by the Summer Recess.

[Baroness Quin (Lab)]

I welcome that reply although I note that last October the Minister said that he expected the report to come out in the spring, which has now come and gone. Can he assure me that in the meanwhile, he and his colleagues will be meeting some of the many people who have indicated their willingness to downsize but for whom there is no alternative accommodation and nevertheless end up having to pay a bedroom tax that they cannot afford?

[Lord Freud]

There are some 200,000 smaller premises in the social rented sector available through each year. We are now seeing a good increase in the number of home exchanges. Some systems are going up and the housing partners’ HomeSwapper scheme, for instance, has now had a 25% increase partly because of the effect of this change.