Fife Council leader Alex Rowley said the administration was “very much on the side of people its feels have been unfairly and harshly treated” by the bedroom tax.
However, he stressed that the council still has to operate within the law by implementing government policy.
The position was spelled out by Mr Rowley as the newly formed Kirkcaldy Anti-Bedroom Tax group said it has been “inundated” with calls from people who are worried about the implications of the new bedroom tax.
The group, which protested at a meeting of the full Fife Council a fortnight ago, is concerned that the system is already in a state of flux.
Welfare reforms, which came in on April 1, cut the amount of benefit that people can get if they are deemed to have a spare bedroom in their council or housing association home.
The amount of benefit received to help pay rent could be reduced by 14% if you have one spare bedroom or 25% if you have two or more spare bedrooms. The Westminster Government argues the changes will help cut the £23 billion annual bill for housing benefit.
Sight-impaired Louise McLeary, who says she faces a reduction in support of £11.45 every week, has been speaking to tenants like her who have no idea what they should do now that they will no longer have full housing benefit and will suddenly have rent to pay.
Louise (34), who has lived alone in a two-bedroom Kingdom Housing property in Kirkcaldy since 2006, said: “I spoke to a tenant who will have only £10 a fortnight left after all the rent payments come off his benefits.
“He obviously won’t be paying because you can’t get blood out of a stone. Another man told me he had applied for a discretionary payment which the council say is the panacea, but he was only offered £5 a week towards it.”
Louise said the letter tenants have received from Fife Council’s housing benefit section indicates that there are options that tenants can take, which include asking for an explanation, asking for a review or asking for an appeal. But she said many callers had discovered there seemed to be no clear policy at the council.
The group is also very concerned that two weeks into the life of the bedroom tax, tenants are still to be given notification from their landlords as to what they are due to pay, how they can pay and what the implications are if they do not the letter from housing benefit did not address these issues.
The Anti-Bedroom Tax group is continuing its call for a non-payment campaign and offers to support people who decide to go down this route but it also wants to help other tenants in any way they can.
The group has prepared letters for people who want to challenge the council by going through the various stages to appeal and urges non-payers to do this, too. It would also like tenants’ groups to make contact to share issues. Louise can be contacted on 01592 267402.
Mr Rowley told The Courier Fife Council had received 800 applications so far through the hardship fund. Of these, 246 had been processed and, of them, 219 were bedroom tax-related. Mr Rowley said this was, inevitably, putting extra pressure on frontline council staff and the council was investigating training needs.
A series of community events has been organised by Fife Council to help support people through the welfare reform changes. See fifedirect.org.uk/welfarereform.