Local reference rent rules and RO determinations - help needed….

Tying myself up in knots with these…..

Scenario is this;

Client has had continuous HB claim since April 2007 - so would come under the local reference rent rules. Last rent increase in July 2008 and it seems that no rent restriction was applied to rent. I have HB decision reviewing award 19/4/10 - this states that the rent charged and eligible rent to be the same - £196.15 p/w.

Client now has decision 24/6/10 stating that as a result of RO determination 7/6/10 rent has been restricted to £184.23 p/w. on the basis “your accommodation is too expensive” - so presumably either a “significantly high” or “exceptionally high” rent determination. Now, I’m aware of the differences in meaning of “broad rental market area” for the LHA rules and “vicinity” for the local reference rent rules, but it does seem somewhat fishy that the newly restricted rent - £184.23 is conveniently close to the LHA rate for the category of dwelling that applies to my client - £184.11. 

Any thoughts? Anthing obvious I’ve missed? Perhaps my suspicions are aroused because the cheeky buggers have also used the RO determination as the reason for making a decision that there has been a recoverable overpayment of benefit! Bit desperate as deadline is tomorrow and client has only now landed this on me in the middle of the DLA appeal that I am actually supposed to be assisting her with.

Ok….

If there is no issue with the info referred by the LA and the issue is solely with the basis on which the ROD was reached by the Rent Officer, there is no right of appeal to the LA.  The only option would be JR against the Rent Service.

However, following the (eventual) success of “Heffernan”, the RO legislation was changed and, unless the RO has made a complete pig’s ear of it (or fails to substantiate the decision with credible reasoning), it will be the everest of battles with little chance of success.

Links to “round 1” of the “Heffernan” set of cases are below:

R(oao Heffernan) v Rent Service (2006) EWHC Admin 2478
http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Admin/2006/2478.html

Rent Service v Heffernan (2007) EWCA Civ 544
http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2007/544.html

R(oao Heffernan) v Rent Service (2008) UKHL 58
http://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKHL/2008/58.html

In addition, if you have access to Rightsnet’s news stories, there are a number of articles relating to this protracted saga.

NB:  The change in law didn’t stop Heffernan attempting to start “round 2”!  However, his initial attempt in the High Court failed:

Heffernan v Rent Service [2009] EWHC Admin 3539
http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Admin/2009/3539.html

Cheers Kevin - a lot to wade through, but the appeal against the o/p will be enough to get the ball rolling (if I say specifically we want an RO referral, too) and grounds for that appeal are straightforward enough. I suppose it’s just that if £184.11 is the median for assured tenancies in the broad market rental area under the LHA rules, I’m struggling a bit to see how a rent of only £11.92 more is significantly or exceptionally high under the old rules…..