Bedroom Tax and Students

[rdm2006]

I have been advised that i must now pay the bedroom tax because may daughter who is a student lives off campus.

 

I cant help but feel that this is totally unfair.

 

To tell one student your parents can keep a room at home for you because you live on campus.

 

Then tell another student your parents cant keep a room available for you because you live off campus is totally unfair.

 

surely a student is a student no matter where they live.

[Nystagmite]

True. But their main residence is where they live during term time.

[marmaris30]

It might seem unfair but if your daughter has permanent accommodation somewhere else then your spare room is deemed unnecessary and you will be asked to pay for it.

 

On a practical level, the only way around this would be to demonstrate a need for the room, for example if your daughter's accommodation required her to move out during holidays (as was presumably the case until recently), or if she returned home to work during them because no work is available in her current location.

 

Perhaps you could try taking in a short-term lodger to cover the shortfall, with a condition that they vacate the spare room at the end of the university year. That could be better than having eventually to move into a smaller place, and your daughter could stay during the summer holiday.

[rdm2006]

sorry the point i am making is that if she had "on campus" accommodation we would be exempt from the bedroom tax. not every uni has enough accommodation so this seams very unfair