The Rent Officers (Universal Credit Functions) Order 2013

Made: 25th February 2013

Laid before Parliament: 4th March 2013

Coming into force: 29th April 2013

The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions makes the following Order in exercise of the powers conferred by section 122 of the Housing Act 1996 .

Citation and commencement

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This Order may be cited as the Rent Officers (Universal Credit Functions) Order 2013 and comes into force on 29th April 2013.

Interpretation

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In this Order—

• “Welfare Reform Act” means the Welfare Reform Act 2012 ;

• “the Universal Credit Regulations” means the Universal Credit Regulations 2013 ;

• “accommodation” means any residential accommodation whether or not consisting of the whole or part of a building and whether or not comprising separate and self-contained premises;

• “assessment period” has the same meaning as in section 40 of the Welfare Reform Act.

• . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• “assured tenancy”—in England ... , has the same meaning as in Part 1 of the Housing Act 1988 , except that it includes—a tenancy which would be an assured tenancy but for paragraph 2, 8 or 10 of Schedule 1 (tenancies which cannot be assured tenancies) to that Act; anda licence which would be an assured tenancy (within the extended meaning given in this definition) were it a tenancy; andin Scotland, has the same meaning as in Part 2 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1988 , except that it includes—a tenancy which would be an assured tenancy but for paragraph 7 or 9 of Schedule 4 (tenancies which cannot be assured tenancies) to that Act; andany other form of occupancy which would be an assured tenancy (within the extended meaning given in this definition) were it a tenancy;

• “broad rental market area” has the meaning given in article 3;

• “housing payment” means a relevant payment within the meaning of paragraph 3 of Schedule 4 (housing costs element for renters) to the Universal Credit Regulations;

• “introductory standard contract” has the meaning given by the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 (see section 16 of that Act);

• “local authority” means—in relation to England, the council of a district or London borough, the Common Council of the City of London or the Council of the Isles of Scilly;in relation to Wales, the council of a county or county borough; andin relation to Scotland, a council constituted under section 2 (constitution of councils) of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 ;

• “private landlord” has the meaning given by the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 (see section 10 of that Act);

• “private registered provider of social housing” has the meaning given by section 80(3) of the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008;

• “provider of social housing” has the meaning given in paragraph 2 of Schedule 4 to the Universal Credit Regulations;

• “registered social landlord” means a person registered in the register maintained under section 1 of the Housing Act 1996;

• “relevant time” means the time the request for the determination is made or, if earlier, the date the tenancy ends;

• “secure contract” has the meaning given by the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 (see section 8 of that Act);

• “service charge payments” has the meaning given in paragraph 7 of Schedule 1 (meaning of payments in respect of accommodation) to the Universal Credit Regulations;

• “standard contract” has the meaning given by the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 (see section 8 of that Act), but does not include—an introductory standard contract,a prohibited conduct standard contract within the meaning given by the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 (see section 116 of that Act), ora supported standard contract within the meaning given by the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 (see section 143 of that Act);

• “tenancy” includes—in England and Wales, a licence to occupy premises; andin Scotland, any other right of occupancy,and references to rent, a tenant, a landlord or any other expression appropriate to a tenancy are to be construed accordingly;

• “tenant” includes, where the tenant is a member of a couple within the meaning of section 39 of the Welfare Reform Act, the other member of the couple;

• “working day” means any day other than—a Saturday or a Sunday;Christmas Day or Good Friday; ora day which is a bank holiday under the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971 in any part of Great Britain.

Broad rental market area determinations

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• (1) Broad rental market area determinations taking effect on 29th April 2013 are determined in accordance with paragraph (7) and all other broad rental market area determinations are determined in accordance with paragraphs (2) to (6).

• (2) A rent officer must, at such times as the rent officer considers appropriate and if the Secretary of State agrees—

• (a) determine one or more broad rental market areas; and

• (b) in respect of that broad rental market area, or those broad rental market areas, give to the Secretary of State a notice which identifies the local authority areas and the postcodes contained within the broad rental market area (or each of them).

• (2A) The power in paragraph (2) is not limited by paragraph 2(2) of Schedule 1.

• (3) A broad rental market area is an area within which a person could reasonably be expected to live having regard to facilities and services for the purposes of health, education, recreation, personal banking and shopping, taking account of the distance of travel, by public and private transport, to and from those facilities and services.

• (4) A broad rental market area must contain—

• (a) residential premises of a variety of types, including such premises held on a variety of tenures; and

• (b) sufficient privately rented residential premises to ensure that, in the rent officer's opinion, the local housing allowance for the categories of accommodation in the area for which the rent officer is required to determine a local housing allowance is representative of the rents that a landlord might reasonably be expected to obtain in that area.

• (5) Every part of Great Britain must fall within a broad rental market area and a broad rental market area must not overlap with another broad rental market area.

• (6) Any broad rental market area determination made in accordance with paragraph (2) is to take effect—

• (a) on the day the determination is made for the purpose of enabling a rent officer to determine a local housing allowance for that area; and

• (b) for all other purposes on the next relevant Monday following the day on which the determination is made.

• (7) For broad rental market area determinations that take effect on 29th April 2013, a rent officer must use the broad rental market area determinations determined in accordance with article 4B of, and Schedule 3B to, the Rent Officers (Housing Benefit Functions) Order 1997 or the Rent Officers (Housing Benefit Functions) (Scotland) Order 1997 that apply on 29th April 2013.

• (8) “Relevant Monday” has the same meaning as in article 4(4).

Local housing allowance determinations

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• (1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (1) In 2014 and in each subsequent year, on the date specified in paragraph (2), a rent officer must—

• (a) for each broad rental market area determine, in accordance with Schedule 1, a local housing allowance for each of the categories of accommodation set out in paragraph 1 of Schedule 1; and

• (b) notify the Secretary of State of the local housing allowance determination made in accordance with sub-paragraph (a) for each broad rental market area.

• (2) The date specified for the purposes of paragraph (1) is the last working day of January and also the 31st March 2020.

• (3) Any local housing allowance determination made in accordance with paragraph (1) is to take effect—

• (a) in the case of a person with an existing UC entitlement—

• (i) on the relevant Monday where that is the first day of an assessment period for the person in question; or

• (ii) where the relevant Monday is not the first day of an assessment period for that person, on the first day of the next assessment period following that; or

• (b) in any other case, on the relevant Monday.

• (3A) The determinations made in accordance with paragraph (1) on the 31st March 2020 shall take effect (under paragraph (3)) in place of the determinations made in accordance with paragraph (1) on the 31st January 2020.

• (4) For the purposes of this article—

• “a person with an existing UC entitlement” means a person who is entitled to universal credit on the relevant Monday;

• “relevant Monday” means the first Monday in the first tax year that commences following the day on which the determination is made;

• “tax year” means a period beginning with 6th April in one year and ending with 5th April in the next.

Housing payment determination

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Where a rent officer receives a request from the Secretary of State for a determination in respect of housing payments for accommodation let by a provider of social housing, the rent officer must—

• (a) determine in accordance with Schedule 2 whether each of the housing payments specified by the Secretary of State in that request is reasonable for that accommodation; and

• (b) where the rent officer determines that a housing payment is not reasonable, determine in accordance with Schedule 2 the amount that is reasonable for the accommodation and notify the Secretary of State of that amount.

Redeterminations

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• (1) Where a rent officer has made a determination under article 3, 4 or 5 (“the determination”) and paragraph (2) applies, a rent officer must make a further determination (“a redetermination”) and notify the Secretary of State of the redetermination.

• (2) This paragraph applies where—

• (a) the determination was made under article 3 or 4 and the rent officer considers that there is an error in relation to that determination; or

• (b) the determination was made under article 5 and—

• (i) the Secretary of State requests that the rent officer makes a redetermination;

• (ii) the Secretary of State informs the rent officer that the information supplied when requesting the determination was incorrect or incomplete; or

• (iii) the rent officer considers that there is an error in relation to the determination.

• (3) Where a rent officer makes a redetermination the rent officer must do so in accordance with the provisions of this Order that applied to the determination and use the same information that was used for the determination except that, where the information used was incorrect or incomplete, the rent officer must use the correct or complete information.

• (4) Where a rent officer makes a redetermination by virtue of paragraph (2)(b)(i), the rent officer must have regard to the advice of at least one other rent officer in relation to that redetermination.

Information

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Where a rent officer considers that the information supplied by the Secretary of State or a landlord under regulation 40 (information to be provided to rent officers) of the Universal Credit, Personal Independence Payment, Jobseeker's Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance (Claims and Payments) Regulations 2013 is incomplete or incorrect, the rent officer must—

• (a) notify the Secretary of State or the landlord of that fact; and

• (b) request that the Secretary of State or the landlord supplies the further information or to confirm whether, in their opinion, the information already supplied is correct and, if they agree that it is not, to supply the correct information.

Means of giving notice

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Any notice given by a rent officer under this Order may be given in writing or by electronic means unless the Secretary of State requests that notice is given in writing only.

SCHEDULE 1 — Local housing allowance determinations

Categories of accommodation

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The categories of accommodation for which a rent officer is required to determine a local housing allowance in accordance with article 4 are—

• (a) accommodation where the tenant has the exclusive use of only one bedroom and where the tenancy provides for the tenant to share the use of one or more of—

• (i) a kitchen;

• (ii) a bathroom;

• (iii) a toilet; or

• (iv) a room suitable for living in;

• (b) accommodation where the tenant has the exclusive use of only one bedroom and exclusive use of a kitchen, a bathroom, a toilet and a room suitable for living in;

• (c) accommodation where the tenant has the use of only two bedrooms;

• (d) accommodation where the tenant has the use of only three bedrooms;

• (e) accommodation where the tenant has the use of only four bedrooms.

Local housing allowance for category of accommodation in paragraph 1

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• (1) Subject to paragraphs 5 (anomalous local housing allowances and 7 (minimum local housing allowance)) the rent officer must determine a local housing allowance for each category of accommodation in paragraph 1 as follows.

• (2) The local housing allowance for any category of accommodation is the lower of—

• (a) the rent at the 30th percentile determined in accordance with paragraph 3; and

• (b) for a category of accommodation listed in column 1 of the following table, the amount listed in column 2 of that table (maximum local housing allowance)—

1. Category of accommodation as specified in paragraph 1	2. Maximum local housing allowance for that category of accommodation
paragraph 1(a) (one bedroom, shared accommodation)	£1,439.97
Paragraph 1(b) (one bedroom, exclusive use)	£1,439.97
Paragraph 1(c) (two bedrooms)	£1,793.98
Paragraph 1(d) (three bedrooms)	£2,160.02
Paragraph 1(e) (four bedrooms)	£3,060.00

• (2A) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (2B) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (3A) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (4) Where the local housing allowance would otherwise not be a whole number of pence, it must be rounded to the nearest whole penny by disregarding any amount less than half a penny and treating any amount of half a penny or more as a whole penny.

Rent at the 30th percentile

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• (1) The rent officer must determine the rent at the 30th percentile in accordance with the following sub-paragraphs.

• (2) The rent officer must compile a list of rents.

• (3) The rent officer must compile a list of rents in ascending order of the rents which, in the rent officer’s opinion, are payable—

• (a) for each category of dwelling specified in paragraph 1—

• (i) in England, let under an assured tenancy, or

• (ii) in Wales—

• (aa) before the day on which section 239 of the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 comes into force, let under an assured tenancy, or

• (bb) on or after that day, let under a relevant occupation contract; and

• (b) in the 12 month period ending on the 30th day of the September preceding the date of the determination.

• (4) The list must include any rents which are of the same amount.

• (5) The criteria for including an assured tenancy or a relevant occupation contract, as the case may be, on the list of rents in relation to each category of accommodation specified in paragraph 1 are that—

• (a) the accommodation let under the assured tenancy or relevant occupation contract is in the broad rental market area for which the local housing allowance for that category of accommodation is being determined;

• (b) the accommodation is in a reasonable state of repair; and

• (c) the assured tenancy or relevant occupation contract permits the tenant to use exclusively or share the use of, as the case may be, the same number and type of rooms as the category of accommodation in relation to which the list of rents is being compiled.

• (6) Sub-paragraph (7) applies where the rent officer is not satisfied that the list of rents in respect of any category of accommodation would contain sufficient rents, payable in the 12 month period ending on the 30th day of the September preceding the date of the determination for accommodation in the broad rental market area, to enable a local housing allowance to be determined which is representative of the rents that a landlord might reasonably be expected to obtain in that area.

• (7) In a case where this sub-paragraph applies, the rent officer may add to the list rents for accommodation in the same category in other areas in which a comparable market exists.

• (8) Where rent is payable other than monthly the rent officer must use the figure which would be payable if the rent were to be payable monthly by calculating the rent for a year and dividing the total by 12.

• (9) When compiling the list of rents for each category of accommodation, the rent officer must—

• (a) assume that no-one had sought or is seeking the tenancy who would have been entitled to housing benefit under Part 7 of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 or universal credit under Part 1 of the Welfare Reform Act; and

• (b) exclude the amount of any rent which, in the rent officer's opinion, is fairly attributable to the provision of services performed or facilities (including the use of furniture) provided for, or rights made available to, the tenant and which would not be classed as service charge payments.

• (10) The rent at the 30th percentile in the list of rents (“R”) is determined as follows—

• (a) where the number of rents on the list is a multiple of 10, the formula is—