In message , at 14:52:52 on Tue, 20
Jun 2017, charles remarked:
Apparently there's a shortage of 1-bed property as an unforeseen
consequence of this benefit cap. So there are people suffering by living
in a surplus of 2-bed accommodation they can't afford to pay for.

Turning 20 of the 2-bed flats into a 1-bed plus stairwell will mean
everyone still has the bed they need, they will be better off, and the
building is safer. Win, win.

so the "new" one bedroom "flat" will have no toilet or cooking facilties -
unless it takes spaces from the one living room the remaining flat has?

Huh? The two-bedroom flat has six rooms at the moment.

Two bedrooms, a bathroom, a loo, a kitchen, and a living room.

The bedroom furthest from the living room is almost ideally placed to be
a staircase.

You might be able to make 3, one bedroom units out of two, two bedroom
ones, but it would depend on how the walls were made of.

Some plans floating around are actually for fewer, larger flats (3-4
bed) on each floor. So that runs against the "bedroom tax" scenario.
--
Roland Perry