# The Housing Benefit and Council tax Benefit (Subsidy) Order 1995, Article 6: Disproportionate rent increase


(1) Except where paragraph (5) or (6) applies, in the case of an authority in Scotland or the Development Board for Rural Wales, where the average rent increase differential, as calculated in accordance with paragraph (2), for such an authority has a value greater than zero, the deduction from housing benefit qualifying expenditure specified in article 2(2)(a) shall be that proportion of the sum calculated for that authority in accordance with paragraph (4).
(2) The average rent increase differential for each appropriate authority shall be calculated by applying the formula—
( 1 + A ) × { B C × D E } - 1 where
A, B, C, D and E each has the value determined in accordance with paragraph (3).
(3) For the purposes of paragraph (2)—
(a) the value of A shall be the proportion calculated for that authority pursuant to paragraphs (3) and (4) of article 6 of the 1994 Order;
(b) the value of B shall be the average rent charged by the authority in respect of Category 1 dwellings on the final date;
(c) the value of C shall be the average rent charged by the authority in respect of Category 1 dwellings on the specified date;
(d) the value of D shall be the average rent charged by the authority in respect of Category 2 dwellings on the specified date, and
(e) the value of E shall be the average rent charged by the authority in respect of Category 2 dwellings on the final date.
(4) The sum referred to in paragraph (1) shall be that part of housing benefit qualifying expenditure attributable to rent rebates granted during the relevant year before any deduction by reason of this article but less any part of such expenditure to which article 4(1)(b)(ii) applies.
(5) This article shall not apply in the case of an authority
(a) which has—
(i) set the rent for the relevant year according to the type, condition, class or description of the dwellings and the services, facilities or rights provided to the tenants, where that rent is reasonable having regard to those matters;
(ii) not taken account of whether a tenant was a beneficiary when setting rents for the relevant year, and
(iii) not let dwellings, either in the relevant year or in either of the two previous years, to beneficiaries irrespective of their housing needs;
or
(b) where—
(i) any increases in rent between the specified date and the final date were of the same percentage and applied on the same day to all tenants irrespective of whether they were beneficiaries, and
(ii) the average rent increase differential calculated in accordance with article 6 of the 1994 Order for that authority had a value which was zero or less than zero.
(6) This article shall also not apply in a case to which article 9 applies.
(7) In this article (and, in the case of the definition of “beneficiary”, also in article 11(2))
“average” means the arithmetic mean;
“beneficiary” means a person who is entitled or likely to become entitled to a rebate;
“Category 1 dwellings” means dwellings rented out by the authority on both the specified date and the final date in respect of which, on the final date, the persons liable to pay such rent were in receipt of rebates;
“Category 2 dwellings” means dwellings rented out by the authority on both the specified date and the final date in respect of which, on the final date, the persons liable to pay such rent were not in receipt of rebates;
“final date” means the 31st March 1995, but if that day falls in a rent free period the date in March which is closest to it and which does not fall in a rent free period;
“specified date” means the date in March 1994 which was defined as the third relevant date for that authority in article 6(5) of the 1994 Order, and
“rent” means either—
(a) the payments specified in sub-paragraphs (a) to (i) in paragraph (1) of regulation 10 of the Housing Benefit Regulations (rent); or
(b) the eligible rent,
as the authority may determine, provided that wherever the expression “rent” occurs in paragraph (2) it has the same meaning throughout in relation to that authority.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1995/872/article/6 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/housing-benefit-and-council-tax-benefit-subsidy-order-1995/article-6
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.