A carer has condemned the Government’s ‘bedroom tax’ which left her and her disabled husband threatened with eviction.

Julie Roberts, 52, and husband Steven, 48, live in a three-bedroomed council house in Milnsbridge.

In April 2013 the Government introduced welfare reforms which cut housing benefit payments for tenants with unused bedrooms in a bid to release family homes back into the housing stock.

But the couple got tangled in a legal “loophole” that was then closed – and they ended up owing money.

Mrs Roberts said: “It’s just a disgrace how we’ve been treated.”

A year after the reforms came into force it emerged that a “loophole” in legislation meant that people who had lived in the same house since January 1, 1996 and received continuous housing benefit should not have had their payments cut.

The council said Mrs Roberts was paid an extra £833.46 but warned the “loophole” was to be closed by a change in the law.

Mrs Roberts says she wasn’t told about the second cut in her benefit – amounting to an extra £19 a week – and the first she knew was when the council chased her for £149 in arrears, threatening eviction.

“The council told me I didn’t need to pay anymore because of this loophole but they didn’t bother telling me this loophole had been closed. How can I pay something I don’t know about?

“My husband was really upset thinking we were going to be evicted.”

Mr Roberts has the neurological movement disorder multiple torsion dystonia which means he often shakes uncontrollably. As a result the couple sleep in separate bedrooms.

Bedroom tax problems for Julie Roberts of Tintern Avenue, Milnsbridge. Julie Roberts outside her home on Tintern Avenue.

The couple’s home was adapted for his mobility problems by the council in the mid-1990s at a cost of around £15,000, said Mrs Roberts.

But the Government’s policy would rather see them moved to a one-bedroomed bungalow or a flat which would then need to be adapted at a cost of thousands of pounds, she added.

Mrs Roberts’ son Michael, 35, has now moved in but the family still have to pay an extra £11.54 a week for the one spare bedroom along with £3 a week off the arrears.

A council spokesman said: “Mrs Roberts was awarded additional benefit as a result of the Government’s legislation ‘loophole’ but she was also told at the same time that the Government had changed the rules so her benefit would shortly revert back to its original level.

“While Mrs Roberts received an extra £833.46 in benefit which was paid to her, she was also aware at that time that she would shortly have to find additional money to cover the shortfall between her rent and the level of benefit the council were allowed to pay in accordance with the legislation.

“The council clearly let Mrs Roberts know about the second decrease in her benefit entitlement before it occurred in writing, and she would have also received standard benefit entitlement letters setting out how her claim had been assessed.

“If anyone is experiencing financial hardship then they can apply for assistance through the local welfare provision team on 01484 414782 who are able to provide help in such circumstances.”