On Thursday 21 November, the court hearing will decide whether to grant a possession order to Bedroom Tax tenants – paving the way for evicting some of the most vulnerable people in Nottingham

Our campaign has repeatedly asked Nottingham City Council to follow the example of Broxtowe Borough Council and agree not to evict tenants in arrears because of the Bedroom Tax. The city council has refused to do this and have now made a claim for possession against some tenants in Bedroom Tax arrears.

We need to show Nottingham City Council that the people of Nottingham are against Bedroom Tax evictions

Nottingham Crown and County Court

Opposite Broadmarsh Bus Station

Thursday 21 November. 1 – 1.45pm

Why are Nottingham City Council, a Labour council, threatening to evict

tenants when the Labour Party has said it will scrap the Bedroom Tax?

What should Nottingham City Council Do?

* Use all means possible to cover the Bedroom Tax shortfall

* Use all of its Discretionary Housing Payment (DHP) budget and apply for more from the govern-

ment. In August it had only used 20% of its budge

* Put £700,000 of reserves into DHP budget (as permitted by government)

* Refuse to take tenants through the eviction process – saving £6000 per attempted eviction,

avoiding unnecessary homelessness, strains on social services

* Use its reserves (£133m) to temporarily cover the shortfall

* Work out the time, monetary and social costs of implementing the Bedroom Tax and present

this to the government to show that it is imprudent to spend £6000 to evict each household and

incur even more costs

* Build a campaign with the people of Nottingham. Work with other councils and social landlords

to demand that the government covers the shortfall for the Bedroom Tax to prevent these costs

* Don’t set up the community against each other by saying that they will have to cut other public

services, or increase Council Tax in order to prevent evictions - Fight for full funding for ALL services

How much are the council prepared to spend attempting to evict

vulnerable people to implement this unfair policy?

*What is a Suspended Possession Order?

The council do NOT have the right to remove you immediately from your home - A suspended possession order means the court has decided you must leave your home if you don’t pay your rent and repay your arrears in a time decided by the court. If this happens, the council can apply to evict you.

Get help paying your Bedroom Tax - Everyone is entitled to apply for a Discretionary Housing Payment (DHP). The council should tell you this. Ask for a form from the City Council or an advice centre. You will need to ask an advice centre to help you fill in the form.