A seriously ill man has spoken out on the bedroom tax he is forced to pay for the spare room he uses to store his life-saving medicines and equipment.
Peter Wilson has said the £360 tax has left him "depressed and stressed".
The 54-year-old man had ileostomy surgery two years ago and uses a stoma bag.
Due to this, he requires two litres of fluid fed into his system through an intravenous drip daily, Hull Live reports.
Because of the amount of medical equipment he requires every day, Mr Wilson says he has to use a full room to store it
His medical equipment includes two weeks worth of supply of IV fluid which Mr Wilson said takes up an entire shelving unit.
He said: "I think I and other people who have to have IV for the rest of their lives should be exempt from paying the bedroom tax.
"It is not our fault that we have to have all this medical equipment in our house.
"If someone has a child with a disability, they are exempted from paying the bedroom tax, so surely it should be the same for us to have a room for equipment or a carer."
Mr Wilson said because he requires medical care on a daily basis, having the equipment in his house is the only option as going to a hospital would be too expensive and difficult.
"I feel depressed with everything that is going on," he said. "With Covid, I already feel very stressed, I am double-jabbed but I hardly ever leave the house.
"With the added stress of this, it just makes me wonder if this would ever get sorted."
Mr Wilson does not work anymore due to his disability and receives Universal Credit.
He says the £360 payment creates a massive dent in his expenditure, which is money he could have used for adapting his house to be more suitable for his disabilities.
"There are a lot of payments that social services don't cover," he said. "I recently had to buy a hospital-type mattress for my bed specifically for my back and I have to pay insurance for my electric scooter."
Mr Wilson believes there should be a change in the law that permanently exempts anyone who is required to use a room in their house for medical purposes from paying the bedroom tax.
He said he had spoken to a woman from London who is in a similar position to his, and she is required to apply for exemption from her local authority every year.
"We just want a permanent exemption so we don't have to go through the stress of begging for an exemption every year," Mr Wilson said.
Hull City Council said the authority can not comment on individual cases, but did issue a statement.
The council said: "Help with housing costs is either via Housing Benefit or through Universal Credit where someone is in receipt of that award.
"In either case, where someone’s rental liability is not fully met a claim for Discretionary Housing Payment can be claimed via the Council.
"Where made, the Council will consider whether an award is applicable either via a means test or a review of someone’s household circumstances."
