Appendix 2: Paying for Housing Costs in Supported Living

Renting
Housing Benefit is the only welfare benefit available to pay for rented housing. Housing
Benefit is paid to those on a low income to help cover their rent. It is possible to apply for
Support for Mortgage Interest to contribute to interest payments on a mortgage. The detail
behind these payments are explored in detail later in this factsheet. .
Types of Housing Benefit:

Housing Benefit when renting in the social housing sector

Standard lettings in the Social Housing Sector (Housing Associations and Local Authority) are
straightforward (unless Spare Room subsidy applies, see below); Housing Benefit will always
match the rental requirement as this is an affordable housing option
Social Housing is allocated on a priority need basis, based on an application to the Local
Authority

Housing Benefit when renting in the private sector

Where the rental is in the private sector Local Housing Allowance rules apply

Housing Benefit to cover higher rental costs

Where property has been specifically obtained on behalf of an individual or group of people
and a higher level of rent(i.e. above the standard housing benefit amount) is required then
Exempt Accommodation or Excluded Tenancy rules may apply. For example, this may be the
case for some people with a learning disability who have very specific housing requirements,
resulting in the need for a more expensive property type.
Local Housing Allowance, Exempt Accommodation and Excluded Tenancies in Detail:

Housing Benefit - Exempt Accommodation

Many people with a learning disability require a level of support alongside their housing
provision through, for example, supported living schemes. The special treatment of exempt
accommodation dwellings enables Housing Benefit to meet the additional costs of providing this
type of specialist housing.

Accommodation should be treated as exempt from general Housing Benefit rules if the
landlord is a:

County Council or metropolitan council, or

Housing association, or
Charity, or
Voluntary organisation.

And that the landlord, (or someone acting on their behalf) has an obligation to provide care,
support or supervision to the tenant. On behalf of should be taken to mean that the care,
support or supervision if not provided by the landlord should be provided for them. There
should be some form of interposition for the landlord in providing these services.
The amount of care, support or supervision provided by the landlord can vary considerably
but it must be more than minimal. It could be the case that the tenant has a very intensive
package of care or it could be that the support is fairly minor, but, nevertheless goes beyond
that which is normally provided by a housing provider
As with the provision of accommodation it should be the landlord that has ultimate
responsibility for providing care, support or supervision or provides a level of support that
the authority is satisfied is more than minimal. It is not sufficient for the landlord to simply
facilitate, co-ordinate or just be involved in the provision of care, support or supervision
either on behalf of others, ie social services, the NHS or within a joint responsibility.
The care, support or supervision does not need to make up the entirety of all care support
or supervision provided, that is additional services provided by a different provider can be in
place.
If the care, support or supervision is not directly provided by the landlord or by someone
acting on their behalf, for example if all the care, support and supervision are independently
commissioned by Social Services, then exempt accommodation status will not apply.
(HB/CTB Circular A22/2008)
If a local HB office is satisfied that the accommodation is exempt then eligible rent and
HB entitlement should be assessed under the old HB scheme rules (Housing Benefit
(General) Amendment Regulations 1995 (SI 1995 No. 1644, now revoked) which originally
introduced the Local Reference Rent (LRR) Otherwise the eligible rent will be calculated by
the new HB scheme rules including the maximum rent (LHA) (HB/CTB Circular A22/2008)
(described at para 1 above).
Exempt accommodation is currently being reviewed by the Department of Work and
Pensions . Details can be found in the consultation paper Housing Benefit Reform Supported Housing (July 2011)
Future Changes to Exempt Accommodation regulations
From 10th April 2014 the regulations will be amended to add the following specified
accommodation to the definition of exempt accommodation:

provided by a relevant body;

into which the claimant has been admitted in order to meet a need for care, support or
supervision; and
where the claimant receives care, support or supervision.
This new specification applies to an individual exemption from the Universal Credit benefit
cap only. Any housing provider wishing to set rents at high levels will still need to satisfy the
provision of care, support and/or supervision test as exempt accommodation described
above as those regulations remain in place.
The DWP have indicated that longer term reform of the exempt accommodation regulations
within Universal Credit will be needed. It is anticipated that this may mean taking high
housing costs out of the benefit system altogether, probably by passing the responsibility to
meet these costs to Local Authorities. More detail on this is expected to be released in due
course.

Housing Benefit - Excluded Tenancies

Housing Benefit Regulations 2006 Schedule 2 Regulation 14 defines excluded tenancies as
those that are provided by a landlord who is a Registered Provider (ie registered with the
Homes and Communities Agency)
There is no requirement to refer an application (for HB in an excluded tenancy) to the rent
officer unless the accommodation is larger than reasonably required by the claimant and
any others who occupy that dwelling (it is important to bear in mind that the size criteria
applied by the rent officer are different from the test to be applied by the LA here. The test
here is whether the dwelling is larger than the claimant reasonably needs, whereas the rent
officer is simply applying a formula based on the number of occupants), or rent payable for
the property is unreasonably high (HB/CTB Circular A22/2008)
The decision to refer a registered Housing Association case to the rent officer rests with the
LA, but for the sake of transparency the LA should have a policy for determining whether a
referral is appropriate as a high rent or a large property is not wholly determinative: the test
is unreasonably high or larger than reasonably required. HB officers are encouraged to work
closely with their RSL partners and to create a Service Level Agreement between parties:
letting them know what criteria (for referral are being used). This raises confidence in the
HB system.
HB/CTB staff will need to liaise with other departments within the local authority (notably
Housing and Homelessness Sections) in developing and implementing procedures in regard
to RSL referrals to the rent officer. (HB/CTB Circular A28/2002).

Housing Benefit - Local Housing Allowance

The Local Housing Allowance (LHA) is applied to private sector rentals and is a flat-rate
based on the average of local market rents, covering quite large geographical areas. These
figures will be public information, and will be up-rated every year by at the Consumer Prices
Index rate. These figures are not increased to include extra service charges. Service charges
eligible for housing benefit are included as an item of 'gross' rent and subject to the
maximum appropriate LHA. There are different rates for the type of accommodation you
are entitled to. These are

Shared Room Rate

One bedroom Rate
Two bedroom Rate
Three bedroom Rate
Four bedroom Rate

If your rent payable is more than the appropriate room rate, you will need to top up the
difference from other income. If it is less you will receive that amount.
If a tenant occupies a self-contained one bedroom property but are under 35 years old they
will only be eligible for the shared room rate, unless they claim DLA Care at the middle or
higher rate, in which case you will be eligible for the one room rate.
A bedroom that is used overnight by an overnight non-resident carer can secure the 2 room
rate. A person who requires overnight care is someone who
receives Attendance Allowance (AA), or
receives the middle or highest rate care component of Disability Living Allowance
(DLA), or
if they do not receive either of the above, has provided the local authority (LA)
with sufficient evidence to show that this type of care is required
In addition, the claimant, will only meet the definition if the LA is satisfied that the claimant,
reasonably requires, and has in fact arranged, that one or more people who do not occupy
as their home the dwelling to which the claim or award for housing benefit relates should
i be engaged in providing overnight care;
ii regularly stay overnight at the dwelling for that purpose; and
iii be provided with the use of a bedroom in that dwelling additional to those used by the
persons who occupy the dwelling as their home.

The claims will not be retrospectively applied but existing claimants who required a room
for a non-resident carer before 1st April 2011 will be able to claim from that date
The provision for an extra bedroom for a non-resident overnight carer does not apply over
and above the property size cap of four bedrooms that will also be introduced from 1 April
2011. i.e., if a claim is received for a single household entitled to four bedrooms, a fifth
bedroom that is used by a non-resident carer cannot be included in determining the HB
award.
Help with the extra room will also be available to those who have their own individual
tenancy agreement in a property that is shared with other tenants who also receive care
and there is a bedroom that is used by a non-resident carer. Any or all of the residents
receiving the overnight care and claiming HB could have the same carers room included in
their benefit assessment provided HB are satisfied they meet the requirements as
individuals. This means that individual tenants will each be able to claim the 2 room rate in
their own right, limited to the value of the their individual overall rental liability or the
property size cap for a 2 bed property, currently 290. .
Claimants under 35 eligible for the passport from Shared Room rate to self-contained rate
(those who receive mid or high rate DLA or Severe Disability Premium) will also be eligible
for the uplift to the 2 room rate as described above.
Once it has been established that the claimant has an extra bedroom, LAs will then need to
be satisfied that there is a medical need for the care. Anyone receiving AA or the middle or
highest rate care component of DLA will be deemed to have a medical need for care
There may be a small number of claims where a claimant (or partner) has overnight care,
but does not receive either AA or the relevant DLA component. In these cases, LAs have
discretion to decide what alternative evidence, if any, is needed to demonstrate that
overnight care is required, given the circumstances of the case - for example a letter
provided by the claimant from a GP or other medical professional.
Finally, LAs will need to satisfy themselves that the claimant or partner actually receives
care that requires a carer, or team of carers, to stay overnight. Again, LAs have discretion to
decide what evidence, if any, is needed in each case, and from whom it should be obtained,
such as from adult social services or the care agency providing the care.
Claimants do not need to be receiving overnight care every night of the week. The
regulation stipulates that a carer should stay overnight regularly but does not prescribe a
minimum number of nights that would satisfy this requirement. However, it is not intended
that the provision should apply for regular but infrequent care, but rather for claimants
where the need for care and therefore the bedroom is frequent, thereby enabling them to
continue to live in the community.

Housing Benefit - Spare Room Subsidy

New Housing Benefit rules came into force in April 2013. These affect people renting from
social landlords (local authorities, registered housing associations and other registered
housing providers).
An allowance of a room each is made for:

An adult individual or a couple

A person who is not a child (age 16 and over)

Two children of the same sex (below the age of 16)

Two children (of either sex) under the age of 10

Any other child but not a foster child nor a child whose main home is elsewhere

A carer or group of carers, providing overnight care.

Any rooms in a property over this allowance will be counted as 8under occupied and
Housing Benefit will be reduced by

14% of the total eligible rent for under-occupying by 1 bedroom

25% of the total eligible rent for under-occupying by 2 bedrooms or more

The following exemptions apply;

The claimant or Partner is of State Pension Credit age

The claimant needs an extra bedroom to accommodate a carer or a group of carers who
stay overnight to look after them

The claimant lives in a shared ownership property

The Claimant lives in temporary accommodation organised by the council because they
have been homeless

The claimant lives in exempt supported accommodation (see above)

The claimant lives in Non-mainstream accommodation, eg in a houseboat, mobile

home, or in an old Rent Act regulated tenancy

The claimants child who would be otherwise expected to share needs their own room
because of the severity of their disability. Local authorities have to make individual
decisions in these circumstances.

 How much can be claimed

In accommodation allocated through standard Social Housing allocation processes the full
rent will be met unless any of the provisons of the spare room subsidy regulations apply
In Exempt Accommodation and Excluded Tenancies Housing Benefit can only be restricted
to less than the full rent if the Local Authority considers the overall rent to be unreasonably
high
In private tenancies the appropriate room rate of Local Housing Allowance will be the
maximum that can be claimed even if the rent paid is higher. Room rates vary widely around
the country as they are based on local market levels. It is possible to find out rates by
postcode or Local Authority by entering data here:
http://lha-direct.voa.gov.uk/search.aspx

Eligibility and Capital restrictions

Individual or joint tenants are able to claim Housing Benefit against any rental liability they
have. They will be entirely ineligible for payment if they have capital over 16000, and will
only be able to claim full entitlement when they have less than 6000. Housing Benefit will
be paid at a gradually increased taper level for capital between 6000 and 16000. Income
from paid employment of more than 16 hours a week will also be offset against full
payment
Deprivation of Capital Issues
Some people living in ATUs may have capital over6000. If that is the case they me be able
to reduce that amount before claiming Housing Benefit, with due regard to the rules around
deprivation of capital. These say that deliberately getting rid of capital in order to claim or
increase benefit counts as still possessing it. Each situation is unique and must be assessed
on its own specific circumstances. The essential test for deliberate deprivation is not what
the money may have been spent on but the intention of spending the money. For example,
expensive holidays are more likely to be seen as deprivation than the purchase of furniture
or personal items that someone moving into a new home needs but doesnt currently own
and cant reasonably be expected to be provided from another source.
Support for Mortgage Interest

How to access

Obtaining SMI is dependent on meeting the criteria set out in Schedule 3 of the General
Income Support Regulations (paragraph 4, sub-paragraph 9).
In essence this says:
'Housing cost shall be met in any case where the loan was taken out, or an existing loan
increased, to acquire
alternative accommodation more suited to the special needs of a disabled person than the
accommodation which
was occupied before the acquisition by the claimant'.(Ownership series number 15)
The eligibility criteria are:

The applicant must be claiming DLA Care Higher Rate and one or more of: Income
Support, Incapacity Benefit, Employment Support Allowance (Support Group) Severe
Disablement Allowance, Pensions Credit

Require alternative accommodation more suited to the special needs of a disabled

person

If you qualify for Support for Mortgage Interest your interest payments on a new mortgage
payment you take out will be partly subsidised. On a 100,000 mortgage you would need to
contribute around 25 per week from other income to meet the full mortgage payment.
You will also need a 5% deposit and mortgage broker fees.