A SINGLE mum who challenged the Prime Minister to live in Immingham on benefits in protest at welfare reforms has revealed she is facing eviction after refusing to pay the bedroom tax – and she's not the only one.
Deborah Kirk already owes £160 in missed top-up payments, which she says she has no intention of paying, and claims she has been told she will be evicted if she does not settle the bill.
She also claims she knows of 15 other households in her area alone who are also facing eviction from Shoreline Housing Association properties as they, too, are refusing to pay the tax – although none of them wished to come forward.
She spoke out as protesters came together at Grimsby's Riverhead against the reform in North East Lincolnshire, where the cuts amount to a loss of £1.7-million per year.
As reported, Mrs Kirk and her two-year-old son Kneale were left under-occupying her three-bedroom property in Immingham, where she has lived for 46 years, when her eldest son Jordan, 22, moved out.
Having a "spare" room left her with the choice of paying an additional £20 per week to stay in the house or moving away from the area, her family and all her friends, to a smaller property.
With a monthly income of £480, after her council tax and housing benefit has been paid, to feed and clothe herself and her son – and pay all the bills – this is a sum she says she simply cannot afford.
And, although Shoreline has also offered to move her into smaller properties in Grimsby, where the bedroom tax will no longer apply, she does not want to.
She said: "I am not doing either. They are forcing me now. They are making me leave.
"They have told me it will go to court and what I owe in rent will keep going up and up.
"I am not paying it."
A Shoreline spokeswoman said there had been an increase in the number of notices served on tenants since the introduction of the reforms, but it was not yet known how many were as a direct result of the bedroom tax.
However, she added most were making arrangements to pay and considering their options and 18 of 25 Band 1 (priority) applicants into smaller homes.
Shoreline chief executive Tony Bramley said: "The government's changes to the benefits system are having a big impact on both social landlords and tenants.
"We didn't bring in these measures; in fact we warned of the probable human consequences – some of which we are now seeing.
"We know the bedroom tax is putting many tenants in a difficult financial position. This is our biggest concern but if tenants refuse to pay then we – as the area's largest provider of affordable housing – may start to struggle financially as well.
"Evicting residents is the very last thing we want to do – it's terrible for them and it's bad for us. We've been working for months to identify residents who are at risk of the bedroom tax, helping them move home where possible, or helping with their budget in preparation of the changes.
"We have and will continue to work with residents to ensure they have a suitable, affordable place to live but it would be unfair to the majority of our rent-paying tenants to continue tenancies with people who do not take responsibility and are unwilling to make payments."
