Kirklees housing officials have revealed more than 200 people have been rehoused in the year since the controversial bedroom tax was brought into force.

The Kirklees Neighbourhood Housing team said that a total of 210 occupiers have been re-homed after being ruled to have been under-occupying their houses.

A total of 1,867 KNH residents have been affected by the government-imposed housing benefit cut, in which they lost in between 14% to 25% of their support.

Kirklees anti-bedroom tax campaigner Rene Thomas said that moving to avoid being penalised risked breaking up communities.

Highlighting the figures in its latest newsletter, Kirklees Neighbourhood Housing chief executive, Simon Rodgers, said that they had found new homes for 117 people under occupying by two or more rooms and 93 who had one bedroom too many.

He said: “In total 90 empty three beds and 27 empty four beds have been generated through Homefit and 11 empty beds from tenants who were under occupying by one bed.”

He said that houses with three bedrooms had attracted an especially large interest from those wanting to downsize.

Mr Thomas, of Broomfield Road in Huddersfield has been campaigning against the bedroom tax since it was introduced for social housing tenants on April 1.

He said: “Whilst I think it’s good if people are able to get properties that suit them I don’t think that people should feel like they have to move.

“What’s more, I don’t think a lot of those spare rooms are exactly spare and that is the problem with the tax.

“People may need these bedrooms for all sorts of reasons and it is discriminating against those with the least money.

“I think the big issue is the break up of communities that having to move due to under occupying is causing.

“There’s a lack of social housing in general and I think that KNH could do more to help people by building more homes.”

Click here to take you back to more Huddersfield news.

Want to read, watch and hear more? You can download the FREE Examiner Apple App here, the FREE Examiner Android App here or you can view the paper as an e-edition on your Apple, Android or Kindle device by clicking here

To follow us on Twitter click here