{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/police-regulations-1987/regulation-49",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/police-regulations-1987/regulation-49.json",
  "legislation": "uksi/1987/851",
  "legislation_title": "The Police Regulations 1987",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/police-regulations-1987",
  "path": "regulation/49",
  "kind": "regulation",
  "number": "49",
  "heading": "Rent allowance",
  "text": "(1) A member of a police force who is not provided with a house or quarters free of rent and rates shall be paid a rent allowance which shall be either a maximum limit allowance or a flat-rate allowance:\nProvided that—\n(a) a member to whom regulation 50 applies who is so provided with quarters shall be paid a rent allowance in addition;\n(b) a member of a police force shall not be paid a rent allowance if he is on unpaid leave.\n(2) Subject to paragraph (3), a maximum limit allowance—\n(a) shall be paid to a member married to (but not separated from) a person who either—\n(i) is not a member of a police force, or\n(ii) is such a member but is on unpaid leave;\n(b) shall be paid to an unmarried member, or a member separated from his spouse, who—\n(i) has attained the age of 30 years,\n(ii) has served for 5 years as a member of that or any other police force and\n(iii) occupies as owner or tenant the accommodation in which he is living;\n(c) may, if the police authority think fit, be paid to a member, not being a member to whom sub-paragraph (a) or (b) applies who—\n(i) has a dependent relative living with him, or\n(ii) is separated from, or has divorced or been divorced by, his spouse, or\n(iii) is a widower or widow;\nand in all other cases a flat-rate allowance shall be paid.\n(3) A maximum limit allowance shall not be payable—\n(a) to a member who lives in accommodation in respect of which he makes no payment (by way of rent, rates or otherwise), or\n(b) to a member who shares with another member accommodation of which they are joint owners or tenants so, however, that this sub-paragraph shall not preclude the payment of a maximum limit allowance by virtue of sub-paragraph (ii) of paragraph (2)(a).\n(4) (a) A maximum limit allowance payable to a member shall not be less than a half of, nor more than, the maximum limit for his rank but, subject as aforesaid shall be the aggregate of the amount paid in rates and the amount of any rate rebate granted to him together with—\n(i) where the member owns the house he occupies, the amount which in the opinion of the District Valuer would be paid in rent therefor if the house were let unfurnished,\n(ii) where the member is living in unfurnished accommodation, the amount paid in rent therefor, or\n(iii) subject to sub-paragraph (a)(i), where the member is living in furnished accommodation, an amount which in the opinion of the police authority would have been paid in rent therefor had the accommodation been unfurnished:\nProvided that where part of the said house or part of the said accommodation is let to or occupied by a tenant or lodger, as the case may be, who is not a member of a police force, the police authority may make a deduction from the said aggregate in respect of such part.\n(b) The maximum limit shall be fixed by the police authority with the approval of the Secretary of State for each rank.\n(5) A flat-rate allowance shall be an allowance equal to half the amount fixed as the maximum limit for members of the same rank.\n(6) Except where the member’s spouse or former spouse is a member of a police force, a married member who is separated from his spouse or a member who is divorced, or been divorced by, his spouse, may, if he regularly makes periodic payments to or for the benefit of his spouse or former spouse, be granted—\n(a) where he is in receipt of a rent allowance under paragraph (1), an addition to that rent allowance, or\n(b) where he is provided with a house or quarters free of rent and rates, a rent allowance,\nequal to whichever is the lesser of the two following amounts, namely, the amount by which his former allowance exceeds his present allowance or the amount paid by him to or for the benefit of his spouse or former spouse.\n(7) In this regulation—\n(a) the expression “his former allowance” means—\n(i) in relation to a member who, immediately before his spouse commenced to live apart from him, was being provided with a house or quarters free of rent and rates, a sum fixed as the value for the time being of that house or those quarters;\n(ii) in relation to any other member, the maximum limit allowance which would for the time being be payable to him if he were still entitled to such an allowance and the aggregate referred to in paragraph (4)(a) were unchanged since immediately before his spouse commenced to live apart from him;\n(b) the expression “his present allowance” means the rent allowance which is being paid to the member under paragraph (1) or, as the case may be, a sum fixed as the value for the time being of the house or quarters with which he is provided;\n(c) the expression “rates” includes—\n(i) any general rate within the meaning of the General Rate Act 1967 and in addition any rate mentioned in paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of the definition of “excepted rate” in section 115(1) of that Act (drainage, tithe, common and other rates of a similar character),\n(ii) any rate or charge for a supply of water for domestic purposes, and\n(iii) the reasonable costs of emptying a cess-pit where the premises do not have main drainage;\n(d) the expression “rate rebate” means a rate rebate granted under a statutory or local rate rebate scheme within the meaning of section 22 of the Local Government Act 1974;\n(e) a reference to the provision of a house or quarters free of rent and rates is a reference to such provision by a police authority.",
  "extent": null,
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f1",
      "text": "1967 c. 9."
    },
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f2",
      "text": "1974 c. 7."
    }
  ],
  "outstanding_effects": [
    {
      "type": "replaced",
      "affecting": "uksi/1990/401",
      "affecting_title": "The Police (Amendment) Regulations 1990"
    },
    {
      "type": "revoked",
      "affecting": "uksi/1994/2195",
      "affecting_title": "The Police (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 1994"
    }
  ],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1987/851/regulation/49",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T16:26:54.657928+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}