The Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 (Consequential Amendments to Secondary Legislation) Regulations 2022

Rent Officers (Housing Benefit Functions) Order 1997E+W

17.  The Rent Officers (Housing Benefit Functions) Order 1997(1) is amended as follows—

(a)in article 2(1)(2) (interpretation), at the appropriate place in alphabetical order, insert—

““introductory standard contract” has the meaning given by the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 (see section 16 of that Act;”;

““occupation contract” has the meaning given by the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 (see section 7 of that Act);”;

““private landlord” has the meaning given by the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 (see section 10 of that Act);”;

““private registered provider of social housing” has the meaning given by section 80(3) of the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008(3);”;

““registered social landlord” means a person registered in the register maintained under section 1 of the Housing Act 1996(4);”;

““secure contract” has the meaning given by the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 (see section 8 of that Act);”;

““standard contract” has the meaning given by the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 (see section 8 of that Act), but does not include—

(b)in Schedule 1—

(i)in paragraph 3(3)(5) (exceptionally high rents), after “assured tenancy of a dwelling”, insert “in England, or an occupation contract of a dwelling in Wales,”;

(ii)in paragraph 3(4)(6), after “assured tenancies”, insert “or occupation contracts”;

(iii)in paragraph 4(1) (local reference rents)—

(aa)in paragraph (a) in the definition of H (highest rent), after “assured tenancy of a dwelling”, insert “in England, or an occupation contract of a dwelling in Wales,”;

(bb)in paragraph (a) in the definition of L (lowest rent), after “assured tenancy of a dwelling”, insert “in England, or an occupation contract of a dwelling in Wales,”;

(iv)in paragraph 4(2)(a)(7), after “assured tenancy”, insert “or occupation contract”;

(v)in paragraph 4(2)(b)(i), after “assured tenancy”, insert “or occupation contract”;

(vi)in paragraph 4(2)(b)(ii), after “assured tenancy”, insert “or occupation contract”;

(vii)in paragraph 4(2)(b)(iii), after “assured tenancy”, insert “or occupation contract”;

(viii)in paragraph 4(2)(b)(iv), after “assured tenancy”, insert “or occupation contract”;

(ix)in paragraph 5(1) (single room rents)—

(aa)in paragraph (a) in the definition of H (highest rent), after “assured tenancy of a dwelling”, insert “in England, or an occupation contract of a dwelling in Wales,”;

(bb)in paragraph (a) in the definition of L (lowest rent), after “assured tenancy of a dwelling”, insert “in England, or an occupation contract of a dwelling in Wales,”;

(x)in paragraph 5(2)(a)(8), after “assured tenancy”, insert “or occupation contract”;

(xi)in paragraph 5(2)(b), after “assured tenancy”, insert “or occupation contract”;

(xii)in paragraph 8(1) (housing associations etc.), for “In a case”, substitute “In relation to England, in a case”;

(xiii)after paragraph 8(1), insert—

“(1A) In relation to Wales, in a case where the local authority states in the application that the landlord is a housing association, a community landlord, or a charity, the rent officer shall assume that the landlord is not such a body.”;

(xiv)in paragraph 8(2), for “The rent officer”, substitute “In relation to England, the rent officer”;

(xv)after paragraph 8(2), insert—

“(2A) In relation to Wales, the rent officer shall not take into account the rent under any occupation contract where the landlord is a housing association or a community landlord, or where the landlord is a charity and the dwelling is provided by the landlord in the pursuit of its charitable purposes.”;

(xvi)in paragraph 8(3), at the appropriate place in alphabetical order, insert—

““community landlord” has the meaning given by the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 (see section 9 of that Act);”;

(xvii)in paragraph 11(1) (indicative rent levels)—

(aa)in paragraph (a) in the definition of H (highest rent), after “assured tenancy of a dwelling”, insert “in England, or an occupation contract of a dwelling in Wales,”;

(bb)in paragraph (a) in the definition of L (lowest rent), after “assured tenancy of a dwelling”, insert “in England, or an occupation contract of a dwelling in Wales,;

(c)in Schedule 3B(9) (broad rental market area determinations and local housing allowance determinations), in paragraph 2(10) (local housing allowance for category of dwelling in paragraph 1)—

(i)for sub-paragraph (4), substitute—

“(4) The rent officer must compile a list of rents in ascending order of the rents which, in the rent officer’s opinion, are payable—

(a)for each category of dwelling specified in paragraph 1—

(i)in England, let under an assured tenancy, or

(ii)in Wales—

(aa)before the day on which section 239 of the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 comes into force, let under an assured tenancy, or

(bb)on or after that day, let under a relevant occupation contract; and

(b)in the 12 month period ending on the 30^th day of the September preceding the date of the determination.”;

(ii)in sub-paragraph (5)(a), in the words before sub-paragraph (i), after “assured tenancy”, insert “or a relevant occupation contract, as the case may be,”;

(iii)in sub-paragraph (5)(a)(i), after “assured tenancy”, insert “or relevant occupation contract”;

(iv)in sub-paragraph (5)(a)(iii), after “assured tenancy”, insert “or relevant occupation contract”;

(v)after sub-paragraph (10), insert—

“(11) In this paragraph, “relevant occupation contract” means—

(a)a secure contract in relation to which the landlord is a registered social landlord, a private registered provider of social housing, or a private landlord,

(b)a standard contract, or

(c)an introductory standard contract in relation to which the landlord is a registered social landlord or a provider of social housing.”;

(d)in Schedule 4 (special cases)—

(i)in paragraph 1(a) (houseboats), for “or an assured tenancy”, substitute “, an assured tenancy or an occupation contract”;

(ii)in paragraph 2(a) (mobile homes), for “or an assured tenancy”, substitute “, an assured tenancy or an occupation contract”.