Except that for many middle-aged women, that's exactly the future awaiting them, thanks to the Bedroom Tax. It struck me, as I was driving in to the protest site, that possibly the most likely victims are women, single, divorced or widowed, living in their home of perhaps thirty or more years, where they raised the children who have now left home, leaving Mum with an eerily quiet house and some happy memories...
And a couple of empty bedrooms.
Which is fine, if Mum's got a half-decent job and can afford to pay her rent. But if she's been made redundant, it can be tough finding a new job when you're into your fifties and Jobseekers Allowance for a single person is only £71.70 a week. If she's not in the best of health, she might be on Employment and Support Allowance, which is £30 or so more, unless she's having to appeal a decision refusing it, in which case she's still on £71.70. Or she might be a carer, getting Carer's Allowance and Income Support of about £105 per week.
It's would be a struggle to manage, even before she had to pay 25% of her rent. Right now, a canny budgeter might do it, for the odd week at the height of summer with fuel bills at their lowest. But as the evenings draw in and temperatures fall, those bills will climb to eat up perhaps half of her weekly income.
So, does she eat or pay the rent?
Well, she moves house, obviously! The place she's in is far too big and ought to be freed up for a family, didn't it? Isn't that the whole point of ending the 'Spare Room Subsidy' that used to exist for Social Housing tenants?
But where does she go? Social landlords don't have the smaller properties to offer; the most recent figures suggest less than one tenant in ten affected by the Bedroom Tax can be moved by their existing housing provider. She could look for an exchange, but few families of working age would want to risk moving to somewhere 'too big' in case a change of fortune left them scrabbling about to pay the Bedroom Tax too. The Government imagine single people and childless couples moving back to the private sector, but if you can't find the funds to pay twenty quid or so a week in rent, how are you supposed to save a deposit and rent in advance for a private tenancy, and find the cost of removals? And who wants to be forced into the insecurity of private sector shorthold lettings, especially fairly close to their retirement.
It's not something I can see the MPs who voted for this measure wishing on their own mothers.
Moving may not be an option, especially if Mum's a carer. How far from Grandpa could she move, if she's the keyholder and emergency contact, the one who gets the old chap up, washed and dressed in the morning, sees to his breakfast, pops back to do his lunch and housework and calls again in the evening to get him ready for bed. Or maybe she looks after grandchildren while one of her children works, and needs to be close enough to their school to drop them and pick them up in term time. If Mum has to move, can her daughter still hold down her job?
Not many people will be able to sustain weekly payments of £25 from an income of £71.70, so the rent arrears will build up. Even social landlords chase arrears; locally, we've seen Notice of Seeking Possession served for as little as £40 and cases put into Court for under £100. Facing a suspended possession order, Mum might manage to borrow some money from friends or family, or she might borrow less wisely, but the weekly budget still doesn't balance and missed payments mean eviction.
A fifty-something single woman without serious health problems or a significant disability isn't 'priority need' for rehousing, so the Council has no duty to find her a home if she loses this one. She might find a one-bedroom private property, but it'll have to be no more expensive than one in the bottom third of the local market if she's to receive full Housing Benefit, and she'll still need to find a deposit, rent in advance, the cost of moving...
Remind me - what was I saying about how you can't expect a middle-aged woman to sleep rough under a bit of cardboard..?
