Other housing costs
- Ground rents
- Service charges
- Co-ownership and Crown tenancy charges
- Charges for tents and site rents
- Rentcharge
- People who live with your customer – non dependants
- Special housing situations
Ground rents
The extra amount may include ground rent or other rent where the payment is for a long tenancy. However, we will make deductions for fuel and any other service charges included in this payment which cannot be included in the extra amount for housing costs.
Service charges
The extra amount may include eligible service charges connected to the adequacy and occupancy of the dwelling (for example under a long leasehold or long tenancy for more than 21 years). These charges may cover management fees, insurance, minor repairs and cleaning of communal areas. However, the following types of charge cannot be included:
- charges met by the local authority under the Supporting People scheme
- charges for day-to-day living expenses such as meals and laundry, heating, lighting or hot water,
- charges to cover major repairs and improvements.
Co-ownership and Crown tenancy charges
The extra amount includes charges where customers:
- make payments for housing costs to purchase the property under a co-ownership scheme, or
- are Crown tenants who cannot get Housing Benefit to help with their rent payments.
We will, however, make deductions for any fuel or other service charges included in the main charge that cannot be included in the extra amount for housing costs.
Charges for tents and site rents
If your customer lives in a tent, the extra amount will include an amount to cover the charges on the tent and the site on which it stands. But we will make deductions for any service charges, as in the paragraph above.
Note: This would apply to a customer who lives in a mobile motor home.
Rentcharge
Rentcharges payable by some freeholders under the terms on which they own their own freehold, can be included in the extra amount if they are covered in section 1 of the Rentcharges Act 1977.
People who live with your customer – non-dependants
People who normally share your customer’s accommodation but are not dependent on them for financial support are known as non-dependants. For example, grown up sons or daughters or elderly relatives.
Others who live with your customer as part of their family, and any children they have fostered, do not count as non-dependants. Non-dependants who normally live with your customer could affect the amount of Pension Credit they may receive as they are expected to contribute towards the cost of living in the household.
Shared accommodation does not include:
- a shared bathroom or lavatory, or
- a shared corridor or entrance, or
- communal areas in sheltered accommodation.
The following people do not count as non-dependants, whether they share accommodation or not:
- carers employed by a charity that charges for the service
- joint tenants
- subtenants
- boarders
- tenants of owner occupiers
- dependent children of the family aged under 20,
- any partner (if they are polygamously married, there is a section on people in polygamous marriages).
Non-dependant deductions from Pension Credit
Standard rates of deductions are made from your customer’s Pension Credit for non-dependants aged 18 or over who normally live with them. There are six levels of deduction and the rate is based on the age and circumstances and gross income of the non-dependant.
If the non-dependant is working less than 16 hours per week, the lowest deduction will apply. If the non-dependant is working more than 16 hours per week, the rate of deduction is based on their gross income.
No deductions will be taken from your customer’s Pension Credit if:
- your customer or their partner are registered blind, or
- your customer or their partner is receiving Attendance Allowance or the care component of Disability Living Allowance.
No deductions are made in respect of the following type of non-dependants:
- those in receipt of Pension Credit, or
- where the non-dependant normally lives elsewhere, or
- those in receipt of a training allowance in connection with youth training, or
- full-time student during term time (deductions may be made during the summer vacation if the non-dependant is working), or
- the non-dependant is a full-time student and your customer or their partner has reached age 65, or
- the non-dependant normally shares your customer’s home, but is in prison, or
- the non-dependant has been a patient in a hospital for 52 weeks or more. If the non-dependant leaves hospital but is then re-admitted within 28 days, their total number of days in hospital are added together, or
- those aged less than 25 who are receiving ESA(Income Related) assessment phase rate, (their ESA will not include a component), or
- those aged under 25 and in receipt of Income Support or income-based Jobseeker's Allowance, or
- where a non-dependant deduction has already been applied under the Housing Benefit (Persons who have attained the qualifying age for state pension credit) Regulations 2006.
A deduction may be delayed for 26 weeks if your customer or their partner are aged 65 or over and a non-dependant either moves into their home or the non-dependant's circumstances change resulting in an increase in the deduction.
Special housing situations
Absence from home
The extra amount for housing costs will still be paid if your customer:
- is temporarily away from their home for no more than 13 weeks, intends to return to it, has not let it to someone else and is still responsible for their housing costs.
The extra amount for housing costs will be stopped immediately if they:
- are temporarily away from home and know from the start that they will be away for longer than 13 weeks.
The extra amount may continue if your customer:
- is temporarily away from their home for up to 52 weeks in some special situations, such as if they are in hospital or a care home on a temporary basis.
Rent in advance
Pension Credit cannot help if your customer has to pay rent in advance to get a tenancy. They may, however, be able to get some help from the Social Fund.
More than one home
The extra amount can usually only include housing costs for one home. Help with another home may be available if your customer has costs for two because:
- they are waiting to move into a new home or have moved and are unavoidably responsible for housing costs on the old and new homes. In this situation they can only get money on both for up to four weeks
- they have had to leave their home because of domestic violence, or
- one member of a couple has to live away from home to study or train.
Homes and businesses
Where a home includes premises rated as a business we can help with housing costs only for the domestic part.
