I am looking for information as to how The Rent Service (TRS) determine what is and what is not a 'board and attendance' case. Can anyone help? I will be contacting TRS to see what they're prepared to share, but it would be useful to have an adviser's perspective.

I've just spoken to the rent officers' team leader in Newcastle upon Tyne who syas he is awaiting guidance from above (within his own organisation presumably). His feeling was that if the meals and utilities elements comprised more than a certain percentage of the gross rent, then they would be deemed substantial and HB would be determined under the present rules rather than LHA. Would this be an appealable decision? Para 8.30 of the Guidance Manual states that appeals cannot be made in relation to any part of a decision that adopts the decision of the rent officer.

I can share with you the information that I have:-

It is clear in the guidance for the LHA that it can, in particular circumstances, be made payable to the landlord rather than the service users, however there have been concerns that the implementation of the LHA could potentially lead to reductions in the levels of Housing Benefit payable if service users are treated as living as single people in one room.

Discussions have taken place with the Housing Benefits Manager in Brighton, which is a pilot area for the LHA, and also Frank Newton of the Local Government Association who has been issuing advisory information connected to the LHA.

It is now clear that f there is "substantial board" included in the rent then the case is excluded from LHA (and direct payment provisions). However it is the responsibility of the Rent Service to determine if the board is substantial NOT the local authority.

The case must be referred to The Rent Service on a referral and the Rent Officer will decide if the board is substantial. If it is deemed to be substantial the RO will provide a valuation and the claim is exempt from LHA. If the RO decides the board is not substantial the RO will reject the referral saying that it is out of scope. The LA will then pay LHA.

We have not seen the RO definition of substantial but the Rent Officer in Leeds seems to use a rule of thumb of around 10-15% of the rent charge for board as substantial. This has been raised with the Rent Office in East Sussex and there appears to be consistency in this approach.

In the light of the above, it would appear that, in the majority of cases, Adult Placements where board is provided will be exempt from the LHA. Where an Adult Placement Scheme has claimed a rent which does not include a substantial element of board, the LHA would appear to be applicable.

Hope this helps

Elaine

Thanks Elaine and Brian - just the help I need. I now have a contact in the Rent Service who I will be following this up with but your information has given me a starting point.