Welsh disabled man’s anti-bedroom tax victory

This video from Britain is called Bedroom Tax hitting families (08 July 2013).

By Luke James in Britain:

Bed[room] tax reprieve for disabled man faced with eviction

Thursday 19th December 2013

Judge postpones possession order on a disabled man’s specially adapted home

A disabled man threatened with eviction over bedroom tax debt expressed relief yesterday after a judge postponed a possession order on his specially adapted Swansea home.

Phil Morgan, who has lost both legs, fell behind on rent payments for his two-bedroom bungalow as a result of the Con-Dem’s cruel tax.

But he won the right to remain in his home over Christmas at a civil court hearing on Tuesday while he applies for a permanent exemption.

He told the Star yesterday: “It’s still ongoing and still stressful but I’m glad they are taking notice and re-evaluating it.

“This is an ideal property for me, I spend 90 per cent of my time in the wheelchair.

“It helps in everyday life, just makes everything that little bit easier for me.”

Mr Morgan lost his right leg in a rail accident and had his left leg amputated after falling against a radiator during his two-year wait for his current home.

Now he’s become one of around 420,000 disabled people to have their housing benefit cut by up to 25 per cent by the government.

That saw him fall into rent arrears with Swansea Council, which sent him a letter in November threatening repossession of the property.

“The possession letter wasn’t just on about arrears but saying I could be evicted,” said Mr Morgan.

“To me that’s scaremongering, especially at this time of year.”

But he won a temporary reprieve with the help of housing charity Shelter Cymru and campaigning Welsh Assembly member Bethan Jenkins.

Ms Jenkins said: “I am firmly of the opinion that Mr Morgan should not be paying what he is being asked to pay for.

“This is a real-life example of how this arbitrary and unfair tax is hitting the most vulnerable people in our society the hardest.

She pledged to take Mr Morgan’s case to a tribunal if Swansea Council refuses to write off the debt.

Swansea Council did not want to comment on the ongoing case but the Star understands it did not contest Mr Morgan’s appeal on Tuesday.

Related articles

• Welsh Labour MPs launch attack on Government’s “bedroom tax” policy (walesonline.co.uk)
• Bedroom tax traps Welsh tenants into arrears and misery | Dawn Foster (theguardian.com)
• Bedroom tax eviction hearing protests (socialistworker.co.uk)
• ‘Bedroom tax, my arse’ (socialistworker.co.uk)
• After Labour’s bedroom tax pledge, now act to stop evictions (socialistworker.co.uk)
• Video: Anger as councillors and protesters clash over ‘bedroom tax’ evictions (edp24.co.uk)
• Calls for welfare devolution as Cardiff reviews no-eviction policy (welshdevolution.wordpress.com)
• Bedroom tax ‘success’ (dailyrecord.co.uk)
• Why We Can’t Trust Judges to Beat the Bedroom Tax (gclaw.wordpress.com)