Housing benefit fuel deduction

A service charge for fuel is ineligible to be met by housing benefit, unless it is with respect to communal areas.  Where fuel charges for non-communal areas are readily identifiable then this amount shall deducted from the eligible rent.  In any other case, a standard deduction is made.

The standard deduction is currently £46.30pw, unless the accommodation occupied by the claimant consists of only one room.  In this case the standard deduction is only £25.20pw.  Regulations don’t define ‘one room’ and I’m confused by the guidance:

4.912: The lower deduction applies in any case where the claimant occupies one room only, including cases where the room or other communal areas are shared.
4.913: There is no definition in HB legislation of one room only. However, it is not a reference to the number of rooms occupied solely by the claimant. So if a claimant has their own room and shared occupation of other rooms the higher rate of deduction will apply. Also do not count as rooms occupied by the claimant or their family • bathrooms and/or toilets • a shared kitchen

In the regulations, ‘communal areas’ includes rooms of common use (in sheltered accommodation).  This suggests that when a claimant occupies a single bedroom in supported accommodation with access to other communal rooms then the lower deduction will apply.  But para 4.913 says that if a claimant has shared occupation of other rooms then the higher deduction will apply.  This seems contradictory.

Any help working this out would be much appreciated.  Most of our hostels have additional communal areas, so whilst clients only have a bedroom as their personal space, they have shared access to other rooms for recreation, meals, laundry, etc.  We’re just trying to work out which fuel deduction should be applied.

I agree it’s contradictory.

The standard deductions for fuel are in para 6 of Schedule 1 to the HB Regs.  It begins with the words “where a charge is ineligible to be met by housing benefit under paragraph 5”.  Para 5 says a charge for fuel is ineligible “except a charge in respect of services for communal areas”.

It seems to me that para 6 can only be concerned with fuel that is not supplied to communal areas, and “one room” should be interpreted in that context: it is surely referring to the rooms occupied by the claimant in which fuel is ineligible, so any communal areas would be ignored.

That page in the guidance manual was last updated in July 2009, which predates Oxford City Council v Basey.  It is likely that the author of the guidance was assuming that communal areas in the majority of schemes consist of hallways, stairs etc and not rooms of common use: prior to Basey, there was a widespread assumption that “sheltered accommodation” is a term of art referring to 55+ housing schemes with s/c flats, warden, alarm etc.  But Basey says the term “sheltered accommodation” is not constrained in that way, with the result that probably just about any supported housing project will count as “sheltered accommodation”.  This in turn means that “rooms of common” use are counted as communal areas for fuel charge purposes and, I would argue, are therefore ignored when judging whether the claimant occupies “one room only”.

If the guidance covers all types of shared accommodation, not just sheltered accommodation, which I think it does, para 4.913 would presumably be accurate for non-sheltered accommodation. So in an ordinary private sector flatshare HB would cover the cost of fuel for the halls, stairways etc but would be ineligible for each tenant’s bedroom and their shared dining room or sitting room.

Sch1 to the HB Regulations states that “if the amount of the charge is specified or is otherwise readily identifiable”, then this is the fuel charge that is deducted from the gross rent.  If not, the standard (one-room) fuel deduction should be applied.

Until now it has been rare for any specified or readily identifiable fuel charges for non-communal areas to be higher than the standard (one room) deduction.  It is therefore beneficial to try and calculate the fuel charge accurately to minimise the ineligible service charges that a claimant has to pay themselves.

Due to rising fuel costs, we are now seeing some services with a charge for non-communal areas that is higher than the standard (one room) deduction.  I’m wondering if there is an argument or caselaw to say that the standard (one room) fuel deduction should be the maximum that a claimant should pay, in the same way as the meals deduction?  Any charge above the standard (one room) deduction is then eligible for housing benefit.

Otherwise a claimant with a landlord who provides a transparent breakdown of the fuel charges would potentially have a higher ineligible service charge than someone whose occupancy agreement just states the gross liability alone.  There would also be no limit to the amount of non-communal fuel charges that a claimant would potentially have to pay.

Morning, I’m currently dealing with a similar issue.  In short, a sheltered scheme has an on-site warden (i.e. he has a flat there which he lives in).  Included in the rent for the other residents is a charge for that warden, his accommodation and his utility costs.  We have gone down the route of excluding the utility cost however, appeal received and now considering whether we are correct.  Any thoughts?