If a tenant living in council accommodation or other form of social housing and are assessed as having at least 1 extra bedroom in their property they could face having their Housing Benefit reduced by 14% of the eligible rent if they have 1 extra bedroom or 25% if they have 2 or more extra bedrooms.
The rules (brought in in 2013) allow 1 room for:
Every adult couple
Any other adult aged 16 or over
Any two children of the same sex aged under 16
Ant two children aged under 10
Any other child (other than a foster child or child whose main home is elsewhere)
A carer (or team of carers) who do not live with the tenant but provide him/her or partner with overnight care.
