The ‘disastrous’ bedroom tax is pushing households into debt and fear of eviction, the National Housing Federation has warned.
New research from the federation found a third of people affected by the bedroom tax have cut back on food and a quarter have cut back on heating.
Federation chief executive David Orr said: ‘People stung by the bedroom tax are being forced to make difficult choices on which bills to pay and which essentials to go without.
‘They are living in fear that they will lose their homes and have resorted to borrowing from friends and family to try to get by.
‘Housing associations have spent millions of pounds working more closely with their tenants, introducing projects to tackle fuel poverty and working with food banks to help alleviate food poverty but these services have costs, which leaves less money for building new homes.
‘The only solution is to abolish this policy, which fails on every level.’
