Manchester City Council will host a summit today on the controversial ‘bedroom tax’ involving thirty city councils opposed to the welfare reform.
Representatives from cities including Bristol, Cambridge, Doncaster, Liverpool, Newcastle, Nottingham and Oxford, will discuss options for supporting residents who will be penalised for living in social housing which contains spare capacity.
A number of cities, including Leeds, have sought to get around the welfare reform by reclassifying the number of bedrooms in council owned properties.
Manchester City Council has voted a change to its housing allocation policy to permit tenants forced into smaller properties because they can no longer afford house rents would not block priority housing cases.
Deputy leader of Manchester City Council, Cllr Jim Battle, said: ‘We urge any tenant who is struggling to pay their rent to contact their landlord or housing association and find out what support they can get with housing advice, managing finances and assistance with a move – even tenants looking to find work.’