How to check whether you should pay the bedroom tax in social housing
Key points
- If you have one spare bedroom your housing payment can be cut by 14%, and by 25% for two or more spare bedrooms.
- You may qualify for an extra bedroom if you are a foster carer, if someone stays overnight to care for you, or if you or your child cannot share a room because of a disability.
- If you are affected and no exemption applies, you can apply to your council for a Discretionary Housing Payment to cover the gap.
If you rent from a council or housing association, your Universal Credit housing payment is based on the size of home the rules say you need. If you have more bedrooms than that, your payment goes down.
This is sometimes called the bedroom tax or the under-occupancy charge.
How much can it cut your payment?
If you have one spare bedroom, your housing payment can be cut by 14%.
If you have two or more spare bedrooms, the cut is 25%.
Those reductions come off your UC housing costs element or your Housing Benefit every month. You would need to make up the difference yourself.
Who does it affect?
The bedroom tax applies to working-age tenants who rent from a council or housing association.
It does not apply if you or your partner are old enough to claim Pension Credit. In that case, you keep your full housing payment even if you have a spare room.
You might be entitled to an extra bedroom
The rules allow for extra bedrooms in certain situations. If one of these applies to you, you may not have a spare room at all — which means the bedroom tax would not apply.
You can get an extra bedroom if:
- You are a foster carer. This includes being registered as a foster carer in the last 12 months, even if no child is currently placed with you.
- Someone stays overnight regularly to care for you or a member of your household. It does not matter whether the carer is paid or unpaid.
- You or your partner cannot share a bedroom because of a disability or health condition, and you receive a qualifying disability benefit such as PIP or DLA.
- A disabled child in your home cannot share a bedroom because of their disability.
What to do if you are being charged
First, check whether any of the situations above apply to you. If they do, tell your council or housing association straight away and ask them to review your housing payment.
If you are affected and no exemption applies, you can apply to your council for a Discretionary Housing Payment (DHP). A DHP can cover the gap in your rent while you work out your next steps.
You could also ask your landlord about moving to a smaller home. This would end the bedroom tax on your current property.
Get free help
Citizens Advice and Shelter can check whether the bedroom tax has been applied correctly in your case and help you challenge it if something is wrong. Both offer free, confidential advice.
Frequently asked questions
I think the bedroom tax rules have been applied wrongly to me — what can I do?
Contact your council or housing association and ask them to review it — if they disagree, Citizens Advice can help you challenge the decision for free.
Does the bedroom tax apply in Scotland?
In Scotland, most affected tenants get a Discretionary Housing Payment from their council to cover the shortfall — contact your local council to make sure you are receiving it.