HB Assessment:

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HB Assessment Privately Rented Accommodation
Housing Benefit Training
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What this presentation covers

• Payments in respect of a dwelling
• What is rent?
• Charges not covered by Housing Benefit
• Liability
• Liable Tenants Liable lettings
• The role of the Rent Officer
• The Rent Officer Decision
• Old scheme versus New scheme

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Firsta quick recap
What is Housing Benefit? A Local Authority
administered Social Security Benefit that
provides financial assistance with rent
payments. There are two types of payment made
under the scheme

• Rent Rebate - An award of HB to the tenant of an
  authority administering the HB scheme, and,
• Rent Allowance - An award of HB in the form of a
  cash payment to any other rent payer, paid either
  to the claimant or direct to the landlord.

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Firsta quick recap
Who can claim? In addition to the standard
eligibility criteria age, capital, habitual
residence etc, the claimant must be liable to
make payments in respect of a dwelling which
they occupy as their home
Who is excluded? Most students, members of a
religious order and persons subject to
immigration control.
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payments in respect of a dwelling
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Payments in respect of a dwelling

• Rent in its ordinary sense
• Mesne profits
• Houseboat and Mooring charges
• Caravan site charges
• Payments made to charitable almshouses
• Payments under a rental purchase agreement
• Payments for crofts (in Scotland)

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Payments in respect of a dwelling

• Payments/lettings outside the HB scheme
• Mortgage repayments
• Housing costs met through IS/JSA
• Part III accommodation
• Lettings where the lease exceeds 21 years
• Crown Tenants
• Payments made under a co-ownership or
  hire-purchase agreement
• Bail or probation hostels

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Payments in respect of a dwelling

• Payments not covered by the HB scheme
• Individual service charges
• Food supplied or meals provided
• Water Rates
• General care and support costs

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Liable to make payments
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Liability

• Checklist 1 Proof of liability to pay
• Tenancy Agreement
• Rent Book
• Letter from the Landlord
• Letter from the Landlords agent

What else would you accept as proof of a
liability to pay? Would you accept a liability
without any documents? Are the conditions laid
out in the tenancy reasonable? Could the
liability be considered a sham?
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Liability

• Checklist 2 who is actually liable?
• Is the claimant the sole tenant?
• Is the claimants partner the liable person?
• Does the tenancy belong to a former partner, and
  the claimant has to make payments to continue to
  live in the home?
• Does the LA consider it reasonable to treat the
  claimant as liable to make payments to continue
  to live in the home?

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Liability

• Checklist 3 Does the letting fall foul of Reg
  9?
• The landlord is a close relative and resides in
  the dwelling,
• The landlord is a former partner,
• The landlord is a parent of the tenant's child,
• The claimant was previously a non-dependant of
  someone still resident in the property
• The landlord is a trust of which either the
  claimant, partner, ex-partner or a resident close
  relative is either a trustee or beneficiary

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Liability

• Checklist 3 Does the letting fall foul of Reg
  9?
• The landlord is a trust of which either the
  claimants child, or his partners child, is a
  beneficiary,
• The landlord is a company of which the tenant is
  a director or employee,
• The claimant is renting tied accommodation,
• The claimant formerly owned the property
• Non-commercial arrangements
• Cases where the liability has been created to
  take advantage of the HB scheme

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The role of the Rent Officer
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The role of the Rent Officer
Rent Officers play an important role in the
administration of Housing Benefit, setting the
maximum level of rent that can be paid on a
property in the Private Rented sector. Rent
Officers are independent of the authority and are
employed by the Rent Service, an executive
agency of the DWP. Determinations are based on a
comparison of the rent being charged with those
for other private sector tenancies in the
locality or neighbourhood.
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The role of the Rent Officer

• Cases not referred to the Rent Officer
• LA Tenants,
• Housing Association Tenants,
• Housing Action Trusts,
• Regulated tenancies
• Previous LA tenants who have transferred their
  exemption
• Claims with a valid Pre Tenancy Determination

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The role of the Rent Officer
The Rent Officer will normally provide the
authority with up to three separate
determinations, but can give more

• The Claim Related Rent (CRR),
• The Local Reference Rent (LRR),
• A Single Room Rent (SRR).
• A Significantly High Rent (SHR)
• An Exceptionally High Rent (EHR)
• A Size Related Rent (SRR)

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The role of the Rent Officer
The Claim Related Rent (CRR) When setting the
CRR the Rent Officer considers the actual rent
charge and the size of the property. If the
rent is considered to be significantly high, he
will set a valuation based on a more reasonable
rent charge. If the property is considered too
large for the claimants reasonable needs, he
will set a valuation based on more appropriately
sized accommodation. based on the number of
people in the claimants household.
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The role of the Rent Officer
The Claim Related Rent (CRR)

• The size criteria
• One room, for use as a bedroom, for every
• Couple,
• Single person aged 16 or over,
• 2 children under 16 of the same sex
• children under 10 of the opposite sex
• A single person under 16

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The role of the Rent Officer
The Claim Related Rent (CRR)

• The size criteria
• Plus, additional living rooms as follows
• One room for 1 to 3 occupiers,
• Two rooms for 4 to 6 occupiers,
• Three rooms for 7 or more occupiers
• The actual use made of these additional rooms is
  unimportant

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The role of the Rent Officer
The Local Reference Rent (LRR) The LRR is the
average of rents being charged in the locality
for accommodation of the same size, or, if
appropriate, a size suitable for the claimants
household.

• the locality is defined as
• two or more adjoining neighbourhoods including
  the one where the property is located, and
• Is an area where the claimant could reasonably be
  expected to live (taking into account health,
  educational requirements, access to shops etc.),
  and,
• Comprises a variety of accommodation and tenancy
  types.

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The role of the Rent Officer
The Single Room Rent (SRR) The SRR is applied
to single claimants under 25 and is based on the
rent for a bedroom and shared use of a living
room.

• The SRR does not apply to
• Lone parents
• Single claimants with non-dependants,
• Claimants who qualify for a severe disability
  premium
• Claimants under 22 and previously in care under
  section 20 or 31.

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The role of the Rent Officer
Old scheme versus New scheme In January
1996 the regulations regarding the Rent Officer
valuations were radically changed. As a
consequence, the Local Authority not only has to
decide which claims it needs to refer and when,
but how it employs the Rent Officers decision
in the assessment. This is dependant on a number
of factors including when the claim was made.
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The role of the Rent Officer

• Old scheme cases
• Claimants who have been on Housing Benefit
  continuously since the 1st Jan 1996,
• Claimants who have had the exemption transferred
  to them,
• Claimants who live in exempt accommodation.

Why bother? The Rent Officer referral is used
to calculate the subsidy levels on old scheme
cases. The Local Reference Rent figure is NOT
used in these claims, which can make them more
generous.
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The role of the Rent Officer
Old scheme cases The Local Authority will
decide the eligible rent as it does for LA
tenants. There is a safeguard for the claimant
in that LA will not restrict the rent unless it
is unreasonably high or the property unreasonably
large. There is a further safeguard for
vulnerable groups - the LA has to know there is
suitable alternative accommodation and that it is
reasonable for them to move (schedule 3, para
5(2), HB CTB (Consequential Provisions) Regs).
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The role of the Rent Officer
New scheme cases Most new claims made after the
2nd Jan 1996 fall within the new scheme, a Rent
Officer decision must be obtained and the LA is
obliged by law to use the rent figures provided,
including a SRR if appropriate, in the
calculation of benefit. No exemptions apply.
Between the 2nd Jan 1996 and 5th Oct 1997, the
eligible rent on new claims was based on either
the Claim Related Rent, or the mid-point between
the Claim Related Rent and the Local Reference
Rent. This was called the 50 top up. From the
6th Oct 1997, the eligible rent on new claims was
based on the lowest figure with no top up.
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The role of the Rent Officer
New scheme cases The Discretionary Housing
Payments scheme was introduced in July 2001 to
help tenants whose rent was restricted under the
new scheme rules. DHP awards are made from an
set cash restricted budget. There is no right of
appeal against a DHP decision, although a
claimant can ask the LA to review its decision,
and this may be subject to judicial review.
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The role of the Rent Officer
Protected Groups In some instances the
restriction to the RO determination is not
immediately applied

• Where the claimant could afford the rent when he
  moved in to the property, and he has not claimed
  HB for 52 weeks, for the first 13 weeks of the
  claim the eligible rent used will be equivalent
  to the contractual rent minus any ineligible
  items
• If a member of the household dies, then no
  restriction is applied for 12 months.