The Rent Officers (Housing Benefit Functions) Order 1997

Local reference rentsE+W+S

4.—(1) The rent officer shall make a determination of a local reference rent in accordance with the formula—

(2) The criteria are—

(a)that the dwelling under the assured tenancy [F3or occupation contract]—

(i)is in the same [F4broad rental market area (local reference rent)] as the dwelling;

(ii)is in a reasonable state of repair; and

(iii)has the same number of bedrooms and rooms suitable for living in as the dwelling (or, in a case where the dwelling exceeds the size criteria for the occupiers, accords with the size criteria); and

(b)if the tenant does not have the use under the tenancy of the dwelling [F5at the relevant time] of more than one bedroom or room suitable for living in [F6and neither the tenant nor the tenant’s partner is a person who requires overnight care]—

(i)that under the assured tenancy [F7or occupation contract] the tenant does not have the use of more than one bedroom or room suitable for living in;

(ii)if the rent under the tenancy [F8at the relevant time] includes payments for board and attendance and the rent officer considers the amount fairly attributable to board and attendance is a substantial part of the rent, that a substantial part of the rent under the assured tenancy [F9or occupation contract] is fairly attributable to board and attendance;

(iii)if sub-paragraph (ii) does not apply and the tenant shares a [F10kitchen, toilet, bathroom and room suitable for living in] with a person other than a member of his household, a non-dependant or a person who pays rent to the tenant, that the assured tenancy [F11or occupation contract] provides for the tenant to share a [F10kitchen, toilet, bathroom and room suitable for living in]; and

(iv)if sub-paragraphs (ii) and (iii) do not apply, that the circumstances described in sub-paragraphs (ii) and (iii) do not apply in relation to the assured tenancy [F12or occupation contract].

(3) Where ascertaining H and L under sub-paragraph (1), the rent officer:

(a)shall assume that no one who would have been entitled to housing benefit had sought or is seeking the tenancy; and

(b)shall exclude the amount of any rent which, in the rent officer’s opinion, is fairly attributable to the provision of services which are ineligible to be met by housing benefit; F13...

(c)F13...

(4) In sub-paragraph (2)(b)—

• “bedroom or room suitable for living in" does not include a room which the tenant shares with any person other than—

  (a)

  a member of his household;

  (b)

  a non-dependant (as defined in this sub-paragraph); or

  (c)

  a person who pays rent to the tenant; and

• F14[F15 “non-dependant” means a non-dependant of the tenant within the meaning of regulation 3 of the Housing Benefit Regulations or, as the case may be, regulation 3 of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations;]

(5) In sub-paragraph (3), “services" means services performed or facilities (including the use of furniture) provided for, or rights made available to, the tenant, but not [F16, in the case of a tenancy where a substantial part of the rent under the tenancy is fairly attributable to board and attendance, the provision of meals (including the preparation of meals or provision of unprepared food).]

[F17(6) For the purposes of this paragraph and paragraph 5 “broad rental market area (local reference rent)” means the area within which a tenant of the dwelling could reasonably be expected to live having regard to facilities and services for the purposes of health, education, recreation, personal banking and shopping, taking account of the distance of travel, by public and private transport, to and from those facilities and services.

(7) A broad rental market area (local reference rent) must contain—

(a)residential premises of a variety of types, including such premises held on a variety of tenures; and

(b)sufficient privately rented residential premises, to ensure that, in the rent officer’s opinion, the local reference rents for tenancies in the area are representative of the rents that a landlord might reasonably be expected to obtain in that area.]