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Family 'threatened with eviction' for not paying bedroom tax on toilet

A Cornwall father who converted a bedroom into a toilet to help his seriously ill son says his family have been threatened with eviction for refusing to pay the bedroom tax on it.

Mike Paddington had permission to convert the bedroom after his 33-year-old son, who has been severely disabled since he was a baby, contracted a life-threatening illness last year.

He installed the separate toilet and wash basin for his son's carers and the rest of the family to reduce the risk of infection, in accordance with the law.

However his Cornish housing association landlords say the toilet should still be classed as a bedroom - leaving the family liable for an extra £700 in rent a year.

Coastline Housing Association said they agreed to the conversion but added in a statement:

Where a reasonable request is made for an adaptation to a property by a customer, such as adding a toilet and sink to a room, making it similar to an en-suite, Coastline would usually approve this, but it will not affect either the number of bedrooms or the rent.

– Coastline Housing Association

Mike claims a Coastline representative said they would take drastic action if he didn't pay the tax.

He said what we're going to do is send you an eviction order to evict you.

– Mike Paddington

Coastline said there was no imminent threat of eviction.