SB 14-67 The “Bedroom Tax”

In April 2013, the UK Government introduced the ‘removal of the spare room subsidy’, more commonly known as the ‘bedroom tax. This means that if a working age tenant in the social rented sector has more bedrooms than they are deemed to need, according to critiera set by the Government, their housing benefit will be reduced.

This briefing provides details on the bedroom tax policy, reaction to it and evidence of its impact, particularly in Scotland. The Scottish Government’s mitigation of the bedroom tax in 2014-15 through funding for discretionary housing payments is also explained.