The Universal Credit Regulations 2013

The housing costs element

25.—(1) Paragraphs (2) to (4) specify for the purposes of section 11 of the Act (award of universal credit to include an amount in respect of any liability of a claimant to make payments in respect of the accommodation they occupy as their home)—

(a) what is meant by payments in respect of accommodation (see paragraph (2));

(b) the circumstances in which a claimant is to be treated as liable or not liable to make such payments (see paragraph (3));

(c) the circumstances in which a claimant is to be treated as occupying or not occupying accommodation and in which land used for the purposes of any accommodation is to be treated as included in the accommodation (see paragraph (4)).

(2) The payments in respect of accommodation must be—

(a) payments within the meaning of paragraph 2 of Schedule 1 (“rent payments”);

(b) payments within the meaning of paragraph 4 of that Schedule (“owner-occupier payments”);

(c) payments within the meaning of paragraph 7 of that Schedule (“service charge payments”).

(3) The circumstances of the liability to make the payments must be such that—

(a) the claimant (or either joint claimant)—

(i) has a liability to make the payments which is on a commercial basis, or

(ii) is treated under Part 1 of Schedule 2 as having a liability to make the payments; and

(b) none of the provisions in Part 2 of that Schedule applies to treat the claimant (or either joint claimant) as not being liable to make the payments.

(4) The circumstances in which the accommodation is occupied must be such that—

(a) the claimant is treated under Part 1 of Schedule 3 as occupying the accommodation as their home (including any land used for the purposes of the accommodation which is treated under that Part as included in the accommodation); and

(b) none of the provisions in Part 2 of that Schedule applies to treat the claimant as not occupying that accommodation.

(5) References in these Regulations—

(a) to the housing costs element are to the amount to be included in a claimant’s award under section 11 of the Act;

(b) to a claimant who meets the payment condition, the liability condition or the occupation condition are, respectively, to any claimant in whose case the requirements of paragraph (2), (3) or (4) are met (and any reference to a claimant who meets all of the conditions specified in this regulation is to be read accordingly).