Deductions

I don’t quite understand the exception for rent arrears when looking at the 30% of the standard allowance limit for deductions.  If, for instance, someone is, as is the norm, having £63.56 being deducted for rent arrears, does this mean that only £31.78 can be taken per month for any other debts?  Or do the rent arrears not count at all, and up to a further £95.36 can be deducted for other debts.

And since rent arrears are taken at 20% how can there be an exception which says that they can be taken at a rate of more than 30%?

Rent arrears count towards the 30% maximum, so if 20% is being taken for rent, then that would only leave 10% for other debts.

The exception for rent arrears would apply in cases where the 30% max has already been reached due to other deductions like sanctions or an advance recovery.

So. if the landlord got in first then you could have deductions at 20% leaving 10% for any other debts. But if client was already having deductions for, say Tax Credit OP, advance or something else, then even if the 30% threshold had been reached they could have a further 20% taken off for rent arrears?  Ruth

It’s not exactly first come first serve. Priority between various deductions is specified in the regs, and there aren’t many things which take precedence over housing costs. Only deductions due to fraud, advances and sanctions, in fact.

Also, only a 10% deduction can be taken for rent arrears if the 30% overall limit is breached, and even then, only if it is in the claimant’s best interest.