PART 3Payments in respect of a dwelling

Rent

12.—(1) Subject to the following provisions of this regulation, the payments in respect of which housing benefit is payable in the form of a rent rebate or allowance are the following periodical payments which a person is liable to make in respect of the dwelling which he occupies as his home—

(a)payments of, or by way of, rent;

(b)payments in respect of a licence or permission to occupy the dwelling;

(c)payments by way of mesne profits or, in Scotland, violent profits;

(d)payments in respect of, or in consequence of, use and occupation of the dwelling;

(e)payments of, or by way of, service charges payment of which is a condition on which the right to occupy the dwelling depends;

(f)mooring charges payable for a houseboat;

(g)where the home is a caravan or a mobile home, payments in respect of the site on which it stands;

(h)any contribution payable by a person resident in an almshouse provided by a housing association which is either a charity of which particulars are entered in the register of charities established under section 3 of the Charities Act 1993 F1 (register of charities) or an exempt charity within the meaning of that Act, which is a contribution towards the cost of maintaining that association's almshouses and essential services in them;

(i)payments under a rental purchase agreement, that is to say an agreement for the purchase of a dwelling which is a building or part of one under which the whole or part of the purchase price is to be paid in more than one instalment and the completion of the purchase is deferred until the whole or a specified part of the purchase price has been paid; and

(j)where, in Scotland, the dwelling is situated on or pertains to a croft within the meaning of section 3(1) of the Crofters (Scotland) Act 1993 F2, the payment in respect of the croft land.

(2) A rent rebate or, as the case may be, a rent allowance shall not be payable in respect of the following periodical payments—

(a)payments under a long tenancy except a shared ownership tenancy F3...;

(b)payments under a co-ownership scheme;

(c)payments by an owner;

(d)payments under a hire purchase, credit sale or conditional sale agreement except to the extent the conditional sale agreement is in respect of land; and

(e)payments by a Crown tenant.

[F4(f)payments by a person in respect of a dwelling where his partner is an owner of that dwelling.]

[F5(2A) Where a reduction in any of the payments listed in paragraph (1) for which a person would otherwise be liable is applied by a provider of social housing under an approved tenant incentive scheme, for the purposes of paragraph (1) the amount of the payment is to be treated as if no such reduction has been applied.

(2B) For the purposes of paragraph (2A)—

“approved tenant incentive scheme” means a scheme which is—

(a)

operated by a provider of social housing and designed to avoid rent arrears by allowing reductions in the payments listed at paragraph (1) or other advantages in return for meeting specified conditions; and

(b)

approved by the Secretary of State;

“provider of social housing” means—

(a)

a local authority;

(b)

a non-profit registered provider of social housing;

(c)

in relation to accommodation which is social housing, a profit-making registered provider of social housing;

(d)

a registered social landlord;

“registered social landlord” means—

(a)

a body which is registered in the register maintained by the Welsh Ministers under Chapter 1 of Part 1 of the Housing Act 1996;

(b)

a body which is registered in the register maintained by the Scottish Housing Regulator under the Housing (Scotland) Act 2010;

“social housing” has the meaning given in section 68 of the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008.]

F6(3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

F6(4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

F6(5) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

F6(6) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

F6(7) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(8) In this regulation [F7, regulation 12B (eligible rent)] and Schedule 1 (ineligible service charges)—

“service charges” means periodical payments for services, whether or not under the same agreement as that under which the dwelling is occupied, or whether or not such a charge is specified as separate from or separately identified within other payments made by the occupier in respect of the dwelling; and

“services” means services performed or facilities (including the use of furniture) provided for, or rights made available to, the occupier of a dwelling.

Textual Amendments

F3Words in reg. 12(2)(a) omitted (1.10.2007) by virtue of The Housing Benefit (Amendment) Regulations 2007 (S.I. 2007/1356), regs. 1(2), 3(4)(a)

F6Reg. 12(3)-(7) omitted (with application in accordance with reg. 1(5)(6)(7) of the amending S.I.) by virtue of Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) (Local Housing Allowance and Information Sharing) Amendment Regulations 2007 (S.I. 2007/2869), regs. 1(3), 4(4)(a)

F7Words in reg. 12(8) inserted (with application in accordance with reg. 1(5)(6)(7) of the amending S.I.) by Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) (Local Housing Allowance and Information Sharing) Amendment Regulations 2007 (S.I. 2007/2869), regs. 1(3), 4(4)(b)

Modifications etc. (not altering text)