A mum was left in tears as her family is embroiled in a bedroom tax nightmare after they were told to pay more than £1,600 after their two sons moved away.
Parents Philip Elliot, 56, and Elizabeth Aslett, 56, have been left frustrated at the tax payment and say they will struggle to pay the money.
The family have lived in a three-bedroom council house in Bilborough, Nottingham for nearly 11 years.
Their two sons - Ryan Aslett, 18, and Lewis Aslett, 16 - left the family home in September of last year to go to university and college, NottinghamshireLive reports.
Before they moved out, the parents say they spoke to officials explaining the situation and said their sons would still need their bedrooms for when they come back for the holidays.
The couple claim they were initially told this was fine, but then earlier this month they received a message saying they owed £1,667.27 as their bedroom tax had changed.
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They received £1,100 each month from Universal Credit as well as £900 from Employment and Support Allowance and Personal Independence Payment [PIP] support.
The amount recipients receive towards housing costs may be reduced when a home has spare bedrooms.
Bedroom tax means a claimant will receive less in housing benefit or housing cost element in a Universal Credit claim when living in a housing association or council house and deemed to have one or more spare bedrooms.
The family were left in utter shock when they were told they needed to pay £1,667.27 in the dispute over bedroom tax.
Philip said: "We told them in August this was going to happen in September, the lady said everything was fine.
"The money was looking a bit different in November so I was a little worried. When I found out it was a shock, nobody had said we owed them money.
"We've got welfare rights involved and it's been sent to the appeal stage."
The couple explained they were unable to work due to their disabilities, which means they will struggle to pay the money or be able to survive off the smaller payments.
Elizabeth added: "I burst into tears and cried, it was so annoying.
"We don't know what is round the corner, we had both the boys home for six weeks over Christmas, they're coming back in the next week or so."
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The DWP apologised for how the family's case had been handled and added that staff were in touch to help them with the appeals process.
The family now fear for their future remaining in the house.
Philip added: "We've got two boys trying to better themselves in life, we've put them in the right direction and now we are getting penalised for it.
"We can't afford to keep it anymore, we don't want to move, we don't have the money to move. We are stuck."
A DWP spokesman said: "We are very sorry for how Mr Elliott and Ms Assett’s claim has been handled and have been in touch to apologise and to help them with the appeals process.
“We have also reviewed their benefits to ensure they are receiving their correct entitlement."
The Mirror contacted the DWP for comment.
