Utilities included in rent

Hi gang!

Now I’m no expert on UC housing costs but I’ve done about as much looking up as I can on a Monday morning so I’m throwing this out to the field.

Someone In Authority has told us that, where utilities are included in rent, DWP deduct 24.53 a week ( 106.30 pcm) from an award of the HCE.

It’s new to me, I can’t find any authority for that proposition and I certainly didn’t dream it.

Did they?

Do you mean in the private or social sector?

Elliot Kent - 25 July 2022 11:38 AM

Do you mean in the private or social sector?

They didn’t discriminate.

For a social landlord, the figure used for rent includes the rent and only the eligible service charges. Usually the landlord would give a figure incurred in ineligible service charges, but if they didn’t the DWP could estimate it. In addition, there is a provision under para 31, sch 4 for the DWP to make a deduction from a global figure for rent where that figure includes expenditure on utilities.

For a private landlord, the ‘relevant payments’ for the property include their rent and any service charges (irrespective of whether they would be eligible or ineligible). This then becomes the ‘core rent’ which is compared with the LHA (‘cap rent’) and the lower is paid. It should never be necessary for the DWP to give any thought to whether the sum paid as rent does or does not include utilities or make any deductions on that basis.

So the approach in your post could be appropriate in relation to a tenant of a social landlord whose landlord charges rent inclusive of utilities but has, unusually, failed to identify the utility related costs and the DWP has therefore estimated the costs at the figures you give. But it would not be appropriate in any other case.

Ineligible, and unspecified, service charges included in rent have always been deductible for HB.  This years deductions:
Deductions from housing benefit
Service charges for fuel, weekly
heating 35.25
hot water 4.10
lighting 2.85
cooking 4.10

I haven’t looked, being away from my desk but with the benefit rates in my iPad, but I’d be surprised if the equivalent isn’t there for UC.

(Added thanks to a wait before a meeting)

. ... but, I seem to be wrong.

It’s there for social tenants:
Deduction from relevant payments of amounts relating to use of particular accommodation
31.In determining the amount of any relevant payment to be taken into account under paragraph6, a deduction is to be made for any amount which the Secretary of State is satisfied—
(a) is included in the relevant payment; but
(b) relates to the supply to the accommodation of a commodity (such as water or fuel) for use by any member of the renter’s extended benefit unit.

but not, that I can see, for private tenants.  I suppose that LHA is a blunt enough instrument to limit support anyway.  It’s needed for social tenants because there’s no actual rent limit.

Mucho appreciado!

It only crystallised today that rather than utilities i should be thinking more broadly about service charges. My head was elsewhere yesterday as anyone on certain mailing lists might know.