The vast majority of the 1,000 people across Bath and north east Somerset affected by this month's introduction of the controversial bedroom tax have said they want to stay in their homes and sacrifice part of their housing benefit.
Social housing provider Curo says only one in nine of the families deemed to have a spare bedroom have so far asked to be moved to a new, smaller home. The rest have said they are prepared to take the financial hit so they can stay where they are.
Changes to council tax and disability living allowance, a £500-a-week cap on benefits paid to families, as well as the impending introduction of universal credit – where people receive all their payments in one monthly sum – will have an impact on the way thousands in B&NES manage their money.
One of the policies which will have the biggest impact is what has been dubbed the bedroom tax, which targets working age households with spare rooms.
Those with an extra bedroom – which, for example, would include a couple with two teenage sons living in a three-bedroom house – will have to move to a smaller place or have a chunk of their housing benefit taken away.
Curo estimates the number of people wanting to downsize may increase once all the reforms are in place.
At the moment there are 12,000 people on B&NES Council's housing waiting list, so moving people into smaller houses is proving to be a challenge, although it is hoped that in some cases a straight swap between families can be arranged.
Curo's head of service development David Clarke said: "If it was just those one in nine people that wanted to move, then we have got sufficient numbers of one and two-bedroom properties coming through the system. But these houses are not necessarily where people want to live, there are a lot of issues with location, and we also have to find properties for people on the waiting list."
Anyone concerned about welfare reforms can contact Curo for advice by ringing 01225 366239 or going to www.facebook.com/benefitsbigchange.
The housing group has opened a new contact centre at its offices in Lower Bristol Road which will eventually handle 110,000 calls a year.
Executive director of customer service Louise Swain added: "We would like every customer to have a positive experience when they contact Curo, and we know that we can only achieve that by doing the right things, right first time, when we say we will and by doing these things consistently."
People can get in touch by phoning 01225 366000, emailing hello@curo-group.co.uk, tweeting @curo_group or posting on Curo's Facebook page at facebook.com/curogroup.
