Size-related criteria
The calculation of the housing costs element under universal credit for claimants who are renting.
Basic calculation: social rented sector
The following calculation is used to calculate the housing costs element for tenants of local authorities and housing associations: [1]
the monthly contractual rent plus any eligible service charges (for more information see the page Payment condition)
less any under-occupation deduction (for working-age claimants only, see ‘Under occupancy in the social rented sector’ below)
less any housing cost contributions.
Basic calculation: private rented sector
This covers claimants in: [2]
private rented accommodation, and
temporary accommodation, where the local authority is the landlord, and it is provided in discharge of a duty under Part 2 of the Housing Act 1987.
The housing costs element is worked out based on the lower of: [3]
the ‘core rent’, ie the monthly contractual rent plus any eligible service charges (for more information see the page Payment condition), or
the ‘cap rent’, ie the maximum rent allowed for under local housing allowance, depending on the tenant’s bedroom entitlement or whether they receive the shared accommodation rate, and the broad rental market area (see below) in which the claimant lives. [4]
less any deductions for housing cost contributions.
Broad rental market area
Every property will fall within a distinct broad rental market area (BRMA). A BRMA consists of an area of residential accommodation, within which a person could reasonably be expected to live, containing accommodation of different types and tenancies. The Rent Officer is required to define each BRMA. Once defined, the BRMA will apply to the different sizes of properties, according to bedroom size, falling within that area. [5]
Joint tenants
Where the claimant is a joint tenant, and the joint tenants are not a couple, the contractual, core or cap rent (plus any eligible service charges), as appropriate, is apportioned between the tenants if the local housing allowance (LHA) rules do not apply. [6]
Where the LHA rules apply, the eligible rent is the lower of the claimant's actual share of the monthly rent, or the LHA figure which applies to the claimant. See How is LHA calculated? for details.
Bedroom entitlement
A claimant is only be entitled to the housing costs element for the number of bedrooms they are entitled to under the regulations for their ‘extended benefit unit’. This applies to claimants in the private rented sector and to claimants of working age in the social rented sector. The housing costs element of a claimant over working age in the social rented sector is not restricted by reference to a bedroom entitlement. For single claimants aged under 35 in the private rented sector see ‘Shared accommodation rate: private rented’ sector below.
The extended benefit unit is: [7]
the claimant
the claimant’s partner
any child or young person for whom they receive child benefit and
any non-dependant.
The claimant is entitled to one bedroom for each of the following: [8]
an adult couple
a single person aged 16 or over
any two children of the same sex under the age of 16
any two children regardless of sex under the age of 10
any other child under the age of 16.
Additional bedroom rule
An additional bedroom is allowed if: [9]
the claimant (or her/his partner) is disabled and requires a non-resident carer to provide overnight care
(from 1 April 2017) a disabled child or other member of the extended benefit unit requires a non-resident carer to provide overnight care
a child who cannot share a bedroom because of a disability (the entitlement is to as many bedrooms as necessary so that each disabled child has its own room)
(from 1 April 2017) a couple is unable to share a bedroom because of a disability
the claimant (or his/her partner, if they claim universal credit as a couple) is a foster carer.
A room used for the storage of medical/special equipment is not to be counted as an additional bedroom under the regulations. [10]
An additional bedroom will also be allowed where a member of the claimant's benefit unit is temporarily absent from home in certain circumstances, for example, if that person is on service in the Armed Forces and intends to return to the claimant's home (see below), or if the person is in prison and is not expected to remain in custody for longer than six months. [11]
Additional bedrooms for claimants in the private-rented sector are subject to the four-bedroom maximum cap.
See Restrictions on eligible rents for social rented sector tenants for the definition of a bedroom.
Disabled persons
In order to qualify for an additional bedroom for a non-resident carer or because s/he cannot share a bedroom, the disabled person must be in receipt of one or more of: [12]
middle or higher rate care component of Disability Living Allowance (DLA)
higher rate attendance allowance
daily living component of Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
armed forces independence payment
If your client gets Adult Disability Payment, check with CPAG to see if they’re eligible for an additional bedroom. Your client may need to get specialist benefits advice from Citizens Advice Scotland.
Carers
A bedroom for a resident overnight carer living in the claimant’s home should be allowed under the general rules set out above.
An additional bedroom for a non-resident overnight carer should be allowed when it is 'reasonably required' by a: [13]
disabled claimant or her/his disabled cohabiting partner
(from 1 April 2017) disabled child
(from 1 April 2017) disabled non-dependant adult.
A bedroom will be 'reasonably required' if the non-resident carer 'regularly' stays overnight (this might be when care is provided by a team of carers). Whether a bedroom is 'regularly' used needs to be assessed over a long period, and it is not necessary that a carer stays overnight on the majority of nights. [14]
Foster care
An additional bedroom will be allowed if the claimant (or his/her partner, if they claim universal credit as a couple): [15]
has a foster child living with her/him, or
is between placements and has fostered a child in the last 12 months, or
became an approved foster carer in the last 12 months.
There must be a 'spare bedroom' in the home in order for an additional bedroom to be allowed. Only one extra bedroom is permitted regardless of the number (or sex) of foster children in the claimant's household.
Children in the Armed Forces
An additional bedroom is allowed if the claimant, or her/his partner, has a child or stepchild who is in the Armed Forces and: [16]
is away 'on operations'. This does not necessarily mean on duty outside the UK, it also covers pre-deployment training and post-operation leave (ie 'normalisation')
was living at the claimant's home immediately before leaving to go on operations
intends to return to the claimant's home.
Separated parents
If parents are separated and they share the care of a child, the child will only be taken into account when calculating the bedroom entitlement of the main carer. [17]
Lodgers
A lodger is not part of a claimant's 'extended benefit unit', and is not included when calculating the bedroom entitlement. However, the rental income from a lodger is fully disregarded when assessing the claimant's income. [18]
Joint tenants
Where joint tenants are not part of an extended benefit unit each joint tenant will be allowed:
a bedroom [19]
an additional bedroom where the rules outlined above apply. For example, if the joint tenants each have a disabled child who is in need of a non-resident overnight carer [20]
Larger properties: private rented sector
The housing costs element for claimants in private sector accommodation with five or more bedrooms is limited to the four bedroom rate. [21]
Under-occupancy: social rented sector
If a claimant is under-occupying her/his home (ie the number of bedrooms is more than allowed for, see 'Bedroom entitlement' above ), her/his monthly contractual rent (plus any eligible service charges) will be reduced, for the purposes of calculating the housing costs that will be covered under universal credit, by: [22]
14% for under-occupancy by one bedroom,
25% for under-occupancy by two or more bedrooms.
This reduction is commonly referred to as the 'bedroom tax'. See Restrictions on eligible rents for social rented sector tenants for more information.
No deduction is to be made in respect of under-occupied shared ownership properties.
Claimants of pension age
If a claimant has reached the age to qualify for pension credit, s/he will be exempt from the bedroom tax. If the claimant is part of a couple, both must have reached the age to qualify for pension credit to be exempt from the bedroom tax. [23] The state pension age calculator on Gov.uk can be used to calculate the age a claimant will qualify for pension credit.
Excessive rents: social rented sector
If the amount being paid for accommodation in the social rented sector is considered to be unreasonably high, an application can be made to a rent officer to make a rent determination. Where the amount determined by the rent officer is lower than that being charged by the social landlord, this lower amount will be used for the purposes of calculating the housing costs element. [24]
Shared accommodation rate: private rented sector
The shared accommodation rate, in respect of the housing costs elements, is applied to single claimants, with no dependents who are aged under 35, subject to the exceptions set out below. From 31 December 2018, 18 to 21 years olds are entitled to universal credit housing costs element. For more information see universal credit eligibility.
Claimants who receive the shared accommodation rate are referred to as 'specified renters'. [25] This rate is equivalent to the broad rental market area rate for a room in shared house in the area where they are living. [26]
Exceptions
The following claimants aged under 35 will not have the shared accommodation rate applied to them:
aged under 25 who had been subject to a care order when aged 16 or 17
aged under 25 who were formerly provided with accommodation by social services under section 20 of the Children Act 1989 [27]
who are severely disabled
who have a non-dependant living with them
who are approved foster carers who either have a child placed with them, or who have not had a child placed with them for no longer than 52 weeks. [28]
homeless people over the age of 16 and under 35 [29] who had spent at least three months in a hostel (as defined in the regulations [30]) and have accepted resettlement support. The three month period does not have to be continuous, or in a single hostel, or immediately before the housing benefit claim is made
victims of domestic abuse or modern slavery [31]
For those aged 25 or over only, there is an additional category of of exemptions:[32]
ex-offenders who pose a risk of serious harm to the public and are subject to Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA).
Last updated: 18 December 2020