Article 7 Treatment of high rents

(1)

Subject to paragraphs (3) and (4), where any part of the housing benefit qualifying expenditure of an authority within an area listed in column 1 of Schedule 5 is attributable to any allowance granted in respect of a person whose weekly eligible rent exceeds the threshold specified in relation to that area in column 2 of that Schedule, for the purposes of article 4(1)(b)(ii), the appropriate amount in respect of that allowance shall be calculated in accordance with paragraph (2).

(2)

Where paragraph (1) applies–

(a)

if the allowance granted is the same as or is less than the excess of eligible rent over the threshold, the appropriate amount shall be 25 per cent. of that part of the housing benefit qualifying expenditure attributable to such allowance;

(b)

if the allowance granted is greater than the excess of the eligible rent over the threshold, the appropriate amount shall be 25 per cent. of that part of the housing benefit qualifying expenditure attributable to such allowance which is equal to the excess, and 95 per cent. of that part of the housing benefit qualifying expenditure attributable to the balance.

(3)

Paragraph (1) shall not apply to an allowance payable by an authority in respect of rents which exceed the threshold–

(a)

which are registered in respect of a dwelling under Part IV, V or VI of the Rent Act 1977^f1or Part V, VI or VII of the Rent (Scotland) Act 1984^f2or which have been determined by a rent assessment committee in respect of a dwelling under Part I of the Housing Act 1988^f3or Part II of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1988^f4; or

(b)

which have been referred to the rent officer under the Rent Act 1977 or the Rent (Scotland) Act 1984 but not registered by him because he is satisfied that the rent is at or below the fair rent level; or

(c)

where a rent assessment committee has not made a rent determination because they are satisfied that the rent is at or below the fair rent level and a rent officer is not required to make a determination under paragraph 7(2) of Schedule 1 of the Rent Officers Order^f5; or

(d)

where the relevant tenancy is one to which, before 15th January 1989, the provisions of sections 56 to 58 of the Housing Act 1980^f6(assured tenancies) applied; or

(e)

where the relevant dwelling is situated within the area of a housing action trust established under Part III of the Housing Act 1988^f7(Housing Action Trust Areas); or

(f)

where the dwelling is an excluded tenancy by virtue of paragraph 3 or 10 of Schedule 1A to the Housing Benefit Regulations^f8(excluded tenancies).

(4)

This article shall not apply in a case to which article 8 or 9 applies.

Annotations

Footnotes

f1: 1977 c. 42.
f2: 1984 c. 58.
f3: 1988 c. 50.
f4: 1988 c. 43.
f5: Paragraph 7(2) of Schedule 1 was amended by S.I. 1991/426.
f6: 1980 c. 51; sections 56 to 58 were partially repealed by section 140 of, and Schedule 18 to, the Housing Act 1988.
f7: 1988 c. 50.
f8: Schedule 1A was inserted by regulation 13 of S.I. 1990/546.