Under-occupation of social housing: Housing Benefit entitlement Standard Note: SN/SP/6272 Last updated: 3 June 2014 Author: Wendy Wilson Section Social Policy Section Social landlords have long had an interest in tackling under-occupation in order to achieve the best use of their housing stock. Landlords have developed incentive schemes to encourage tenants to relocate to smaller properties; however, as a general rule, they do not have the power to force social tenants to move against their will. The Government has used powers contained in the Welfare Reform Act 2012 to provide that, since 1 April 2013, working-age social tenants in receipt of Housing Benefit will experience a reduction in their benefit entitlement if they live in housing that is deemed to be too large for their needs. Restrictions on entitlement to Housing Benefit based on the size of the accommodation occupied have applied to claimants living in privately rented housing since 1989 (Schedule 3 to the Rent Officers (Additional Function) Order 1989). The policy is highly controversial and has been labelled the “bedroom tax” – it is also referred to as the “spare room subsidy”. Amendments to the Welfare Reform Bill were secured during its passage through the House of Lords but they did not survive into the final Act. Ed Miliband announced that a Labour Government would abolish the Housing Benefit deduction during his speech to the 2013 Labour Party Conference. The Housing Benefit and Universal Credit in the Social Housing Sector (Regular Payments) Bill, which was introduced by Ian Lavery on 12 February 2014 under the Ten Minute Rule, sought to abolish the under-occupation deduction. The Bill failed to make progress before the end of the 2013-14 Session. This note provides information on who is affected by the under-occupation deduction in the social rented sector, summarises a selection of legal challenges and discusses potential responses by landlords and tenants. Separate notes (SN/SP/6896 and SN/SP/6899 respectively) consider evidence (to date) on the impact of the under-occupation deduction and the use of Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) to mitigate the impact. The rules on Housing Benefit apply in England, Wales and Scotland. The Welfare Reform (Northern Ireland) Bill 2012 has not completed its progress through the Assembly so the deduction does not yet apply in Northern Ireland. SN/SP/6899 details the Scottish Government’s approach to the use of DHPs. This information is provided to Members of Parliament in support of their parliamentary duties and is not intended to address the specific circumstances of any particular individual. It should not be relied upon as being up to date; the law or policies may have changed since it was last updated; and it should not be relied upon as legal or professional advice or as a substitute for it. A suitably qualified professional should be consulted if specific advice or information is required. This information is provided subject to our general terms and conditions which are available online or may be provided on request in hard copy. Authors are available to discuss the content of this briefing with Members and their staff, but not with the general public. 2 Contents 1 Why does under-occupation arise? 2 2 The rationale for Government intervention 4 3 Housing Benefit: defining under-occupation and who is affected 6 Continuous entitlement to HB since at least 1 January 1996 7 3.1 What is a bedroom? (size of room & how many are allowed) 7 Legal challenges 9 3.2 What is working-age? 12 3.3 How much Housing Benefit is lost? 13 3.4 Disabled occupants 16 Legal challenges 17 3.5 Shared care of children 25 Legal challenges 26 3.6 Sheltered and supported housing 27 3.7 Foster carers and adoptive parents 29 3.8 Temporary absences from home (students, armed forces personnel) 30 Legal challenges 32 3.9 Separated couples living together 32 3.10 Bereavement, temporary protection and reporting changes of circumstances 33 4 The options for tenants 33 4.1 Discretionary Housing Payments 34 4.2 Moving to a smaller home 34 4.3 Taking in a lodger 36 4.4 Earning more money 36 5 What can landlords do? 37 1 Why does under-occupation arise? Under-occupation arises where a household lives in a property that is deemed to be too large for its needs. It is usually defined in terms of excess bedrooms. The classic cause of under-occupation is older tenants/couples remaining in their home after their children have grown up and left. Family breakdown can also result in under-occupation. Some social landlords, particularly in areas with less demand for social housing, create under-occupation on initial allocation, i.e. they offer a household a larger property than they need. This may arise because of a mismatch between the size of properties available and 3 households in need of housing or the landlord may wish to support parents with children who do not reside with them permanently. The allocation policy may also anticipate increases in family size – thus reducing the pressure for future transfer requests. Research carried out by the Cambridge Centre for Housing and Planning Research (CCHPR) for the Housing Futures Network indicates that a substantial number of under-occupying households do not regard themselves as such. Their “spare” bedrooms are used by children (irrespective of age and gender) who have their own rooms. A number of couples sleep in separate bedrooms. Spare bedrooms are used when children visit at weekends as part of a shared parenting arrangement; rooms are also used for storing disability related equipment.1 Social landlords have tended to focus on tackling under-occupation amongst elderly tenants. This generally takes the form of an incentive to move and assistance with removal costs.2 Good practice guidance on managing under-occupation was published by the then Government in April 2000 Managing under-occupation: A guide to good practice in social housing. The Tenant Services Authority (TSA) and DCLG published a new guide to tackling overcrowding and under-occupation, Overcrowding and Under-Occupation: Self-Assessment for Social Landlords, in October 2009. In 2007 the Labour Government allocated funding to 38 pathfinder areas to devise solutions to tackle overcrowding – this work also included a focus on under-occupation; a report on progress is contained in the TSA/DCLG’s 2009 paper. The key message from landlords who have been active in this area seems to be that cash incentives are largely irrelevant in most cases. What is important, and leads to successful moves, is the provision of the right support and finding the right property. The CCHPR concludes that successful schemes to reduce under-occupation “generally only manage to move a very small proportion of all under-occupiers each year. The main reason for this is that most do not want to leave the homes they are settled in.”3 The 2011 Census collected occupancy ratings for bedrooms for the first time. An occupancy rating shows whether a household is overcrowded or under-occupied. This is based on the number of bedrooms available minus the recommended bedroom standard. The ONS analysis revealed: …out of 23.4 million households in England and Wales in 2011, 1.1 million (4.5%) were overcrowded and overcrowding was most likely to occur in socially rented (8.7%) and privately rented households (8.6%), compared with owner occupied (2.3%). However, most households (16.1 million) were under-occupied and under-occupancy was most likely to occur in owner occupied households (82.7%), compared with privately rented (49.5%) and socially rented households (39.4%). Overall, there were 6.2 million households that matched the bedroom standard.4 ONS has produced an infographic on its occupancy findings from the 2011 Census: Overcrowding & under-occupation in England and Wales 2011, infographic while the full report, Overcrowding and under-occupation in England and Wales, can be accessed online. 1 Cambridge Centre for Housing and Planning Research, Under-occupation and the new policy framework December 2011 2 CCHPR, Under-occupation in North Hertfordshire, March 2011 3 Cambridge Centre for Housing and Planning Research, Under-occupation and the new policy framework December 2011 4 ONS, Census suggests 1.1m households in England and Wales were overcrowded, 17 April 2014
Posted on: Sun, 07 Dec 2014 15:42:53 +0000
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