Managing Housing Benefit Claims in Supported Housing | Part C: Evidencing Claims: What Is Reasonable
In brief
- Chapters 6 to 8 explain what care, support or supervision (CSS) means, when intensive housing management (IHM) and maintenance count, and what “more than minimal” requires. This chapter is about how to show it.
- The evidence needs to answer one question: what does the landlord, or someone acting on its behalf, actually do for this claimant, beyond what a general needs social landlord would do, and what difference does it make?
- A label is not evidence. Calling a service “intensive housing management”, “enhanced housing management” or “tenancy sustainment” decides nothing (DW v Oxford CC [2012] UKUT 52 (AAC); Chapter 7, 7.4).
- Hours are useful context but never the legal test (DWP guidance, para 151; Chapter 8, 8.3).
- Extra maintenance and repairs driven by tenants’ needs, plus supervision (including on-call cover), count as real support and supervision. They are also the activities most often under-recorded.
- The best evidence comes from records providers keep anyway: support plans, activity summaries, repairs logs and call-out logs.
- SHP’s position: intensive housing management and maintenance, provided because of tenants’ needs and beyond general needs management, can be sufficient on their own (Chapter 7, 7.5). Providers that rely on them should evidence them as carefully as any other support.
The law
15.1 What to show
The case law gives a consistent set of questions. Together they form the checklist for any CSS evidence:
| Question | Why it matters | Authority |
|---|---|---|
| Who provides it? | The landlord, or someone acting on its behalf, must provide it | Schedule 3, para 4(10), SI 2006/217; R(H) 2/07; Chapter 5 |
| What is the relationship to the landlord? | Third-party support counts only where the landlord has arranged or paid for it; a joint venture is not enough | DWP guidance, paras 139 and 140; R(H) 6/08 |
| What activities? | Advice and assistance with the practicalities of life, in particular occupation of the property; oversight to prevent harm | Chorley BC v IT, para 71(7); R(A) 2/75 |
| How often? | Support must be ongoing and more than minimal; available support must have a real prospect of being needed more than very occasionally | R(H) 4/09, para 26; DW v Oxford CC, para 79 |
| Is it necessary? | Support is not provided unless there is some need for it | MMcF v Sefton BC [2016] UKUT 403 (AAC), para 12 |
| How does it link to the claimant’s needs? | Support should be tailored to the individual | DWP guidance, paras 142 to 144; Chapter 14 |
| How does it differ from ordinary management? | The comparator is general needs social housing; what any prudent landlord would do is not support | Chorley BC v IT, para 71(1); R(H) 4/09, para 25 |
| What is its impact on keeping the tenancy? | Is it likely to make a real difference to the claimant’s ability to live in the property? | Bristol CC v AW [2009] UKUT 109 (AAC), para 31 |
What “support” means for eligibility. For the exempt accommodation test, “support” has its case law meaning (Chapter 6). For Housing Benefit eligibility, this manual distinguishes two kinds of activity:
- care and personal support, such as personal care, counselling and emotional support, life skills, budgeting help other than with Housing Benefit, training, education and employment support, medication reminders and family liaison. These are not eligible (Schedule 1, para 1(e) and (f))
- housing-related support and supervision, which bear on the accommodation, its services and the tenant’s occupation of it, such as tenancy sustainment, enhanced repairs and maintenance, property and welfare checks, intervention in disputes, help with Housing Benefit and on-call cover. SHP’s view is that these are intensive housing management and are eligible (supportedhousing.blog)
The same activity can count towards exempt status and be eligible (Allerdale, paras 12 and 30; Chapter 7, 7.5).
The four evidential considerations. In MMcF v Sefton BC, the Upper Tribunal identified the evidence likely to need examining: the tenancy terms, the tenant’s needs, what services are actually provided, and whether they are likely to make a real difference (paras 14 and 15; Chapter 6, 6.7). A good evidence file addresses all four.
15.2 Why “intensive housing management” as a bare label is not enough
The guidance. “Intensive housing management (and similar terms) are now often used by landlords as an umbrella term to cover a range of charges. The LA should ask for a breakdown of these charges” (DWP guidance, para 190).
The case law. In DW v Oxford CC, the landlord had agreed to provide support and employed a part-time tenant support officer. The Upper Tribunal held that it “cannot … be enough that the landlord is prepared to provide the support”, unless there is a real prospect it will be needed more than very occasionally, and that the question is difficult to answer “without having close regard to what the landlord has actually done” (para 79). Landlords offering much the same service can get different outcomes, depending on the evidence of what each actually does (para 78).
What turns a label into evidence. For each IHM activity, the provider should be able to say:
- what the activity is
- how it differs from what a general needs social landlord would do
- which tenants’ needs make it necessary
- how often it is done, and by whom
- what record shows it was done
- whether it is eligible housing management, including housing-related support and supervision, or care, counselling or personal support to the person (Allerdale BC v JD and Others [2019] UKUT 304 (AAC); Chapter 7, 7.5)
SHP’s position. IHM is not a weaker form of support. Where it is evidenced activity by activity, it can be sufficient on its own. Where it is only a label, it will not be enough, whatever the size of the charge.
15.3 Using hours data appropriately: helpful context, never the legal test
The law and the guidance agree. There is no minimum number of hours. The “three hours” figure in CH/1289/2007 was the council’s own calculation at one hostel, which the Commissioner said was “not obvious[ly]” minimal (para 21; Chapter 8, 8.3). The guidance says “there is no set number of hours”, and that the activities must be considered “alongside the time spent” (para 151).
Where hours help:
- as one indicator of the frequency and substance of support
- in apportioning mixed charges between eligible and ineligible services (Chapter 9, 9.3)
- in showing that staffing levels can deliver the service described
Where hours mislead:
- supervision and on-call cover may involve little recorded contact time, but staff are on duty and ready to respond throughout (Chapter 6, 6.5 and 6.6)
- readiness to intervene, for example in disputes between tenants, may take little time but makes a real difference (DW v Oxford CC, para 53)
- repairs done quickly because of a tenant’s needs may take little time but prevent harm or tenancy breakdown
- many hours of ordinary housing management, or support the claimant does not need, add nothing
SHP’s position. Councils should not apply an hours threshold, and providers should not present hours as if they were the test. Hours should be presented alongside a description of what was done and why.
15.4 Evidencing extra maintenance and repairs caused by tenant need
The law. Repairs are not support where the landlord only meets its repairing obligations. They can be support where tenants’ needs make those obligations “materially more burdensome”, or where the landlord voluntarily goes beyond them, for example “by routinely repairing damage caused by the tenant, or carrying out works in a way designed to take account of the tenant’s needs” (Chorley BC v IT, para 71(2), (4) and (5); Chapter 6, 6.3). Arranging work for times when tenants are out, to reduce their anxiety, can be support (Chorley BC v EM [2009] UKUT 108 (AAC), paras 125 to 128). It does not matter that the landlord is paid through the rent (Chorley BC v IT, para 71(6)).
The guidance. Extra maintenance caused by a claimant’s disability “could amount to support”, although the guidance says it is “unlikely” to be sufficient on its own (para 155). SHP’s view is that this second sentence is a view, not a rule (Chapter 3, 3.4.1; Chapter 7, 7.5).
What good evidence looks like:
- a repairs log that records the cause of each repair, so that damage linked to tenants’ needs can be identified
- a comparison with general needs repair frequency or cost, even if approximate
- examples of how works are arranged around tenants’ needs: timing, communication, accompaniment, making safe
- property visits and checks that go beyond statutory duties, with what they found and what was done (Chorley BC v EM, paras 146 to 155 and 181)
- the link to needs: the support plan or needs assessment should explain why, for example, a tenant’s mental health, learning disability or substance use leads to more damage, neglect or risk
What does not count on its own. Statutory safety checks done only to meet legal duties, and annual inspections, add little (Chorley BC v EM, para 155; DWP guidance, para 151).
15.5 Evidencing supervision and staff availability
The law. Supervision can be “precautionary and anticipatory, yet never result in intervention” (R(A) 2/75). Care and supervision must actually be provided, not just available if called (R(H) 6/08). SHP’s position is that an organised on-call service, or staff on site or nearby and ready to respond, is supervision: oversight actually provided to prevent harm, even when no call is made (Chapter 6, 6.5 and 6.6). The tenants must have a real prospect of needing it more than very occasionally (DW v Oxford CC, para 79).
What good evidence looks like:
- a description of the cover: on-site hours, on-call hours, who is on call, how quickly they respond, and how tenants know how to reach them
- staff rotas showing the cover is in place
- a call-out and intervention log, showing the nature of each call, the response and the outcome
- risk information from needs assessments, showing why tenants need oversight, for example risks of self-harm, exploitation, fire, self-neglect or relapse
- incident and safeguarding records, summarised, showing how supervision has prevented or reduced harm
- routine welfare checks or monitoring, where part of the service
Few call-outs is not proof that supervision is not needed. Supervision that works may result in few incidents. The question is whether there is a real prospect of need, which the tenants’ risks will usually show. But where a service is called on very rarely over a long period, that may indicate it is not more than minimal (R(H) 4/09; Chapter 8, 8.2). The evidence should show both the risks and the use made of the service.
15.6 Sample evidence matrix: activity, need met, frequency, record held
A matrix brings the evidence together for a scheme or a claimant. It can form part of the service description (Chapter 13, 13.4) or the support plan (Chapter 14, 14.3). Appendix 7 provides a model activity log. An illustrative matrix:
| Activity and frequency | Need met | Beyond general needs because | Record held | Type and eligibility |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tenancy sustainment visit, weekly | Managing the home; risk of tenancy breakdown | General needs landlords rarely visit | Visit log; plan review | Housing-related support. Eligible; any personal support element is ineligible |
| Repairs to damage linked to needs, as needed | Safe home despite damage caused by disability or behaviour | General needs landlords recharge or take action | Repairs log with cause | Housing-related support. Eligible |
| Works arranged around needs, as needed | Anxiety; vulnerability; need to be accompanied | Extra effort beyond ordinary arrangements | Repairs log; notes | Housing-related support. Eligible |
| Fire safety and hoarding checks, monthly | Risk of fire and self-neglect | Statutory checks are annual; these respond to risk | Check record | Supervision. Eligible |
| Intervention in disputes, as needed | Susceptibility to conflict or exploitation | General needs landlords act later, on complaint | Incident log | Housing-related support (DW v Oxford CC, para 53). Eligible |
| On-call cover out of hours, continuous | Risk of harm, crisis or relapse | General needs landlords offer emergency repairs only | Rota; call-out log | Supervision. Eligible (SHP’s view) |
| Help with rent and Housing Benefit, as needed | Managing money; keeping the tenancy | Not beyond general needs on its own | Rent account notes | Housing management. Eligible, but cannot be relied on alone (Chapter 3, 3.4.4) |
| Emotional support and life skills, weekly | Wellbeing; independence | Not housing management | Support notes | Personal support. Ineligible (Schedule 1, para 1(f)) |
The matrix is illustrative. Each scheme will have its own activities, and the eligibility column needs to be considered activity by activity (Chapter 9).
The guidance
| Para | What the guidance says | SHP’s view |
|---|---|---|
| 137 | Check who provides CSS, need, sufficiency, link to the accommodation and funding. | Agreed. The 15.1 checklist covers these. |
| 139 to 140 | Third-party CSS needs a contract with the landlord; joint ventures do not count. | Agreed. |
| 151 | No set number of hours; activities alongside time; help with benefit claims and safety inspections not enough on their own. | Agreed. Hours are context, not the test. |
| 153 | One-to-one, regular and direct support is more substantial; available support counts where likely to be needed and beneficial. | Reasonable factors, not rules. Supervision counts even where no intervention results (R(A) 2/75). |
| 154 | A qualified specialist’s activity is more substantial. | A relevant factor, not a requirement (Chapter 8). |
| 155 | Housing management beyond general needs could be support; extra maintenance is unlikely to be sufficient on its own. | First sentence agreed. The second is a view, not a rule (Chapter 7, 7.5). |
| 189 to 190 | Scrutinise IHM charges; ask for a breakdown; deduct ineligible or duplicate items. | Agreed. A breakdown by activity is the right starting point (Chapter 9). |
Good practice
For councils:
- Ask what is actually done for the claimant, how it differs from general needs management, and why the claimant needs it.
- Accept summary records: activity summaries, repairs logs with causes, call-out logs and plan reviews.
- Don’t apply an hours threshold or a visit count.
- Treat on-call and other supervision as supervision, and look at the tenants’ risks as well as the number of call-outs.
- Decide IHM eligibility activity by activity, not by label.
- Give reasons that engage with the evidence, activity by activity.
For providers:
- Break IHM into activities and evidence each one (15.2).
- Record the cause of repairs, so that damage linked to tenants’ needs is visible.
- Keep a call-out and intervention log, and summarise it regularly.
- Link every activity to the tenant’s assessed needs and support plan.
- Present hours alongside what was done and why.
- Don’t rely on help with Housing Benefit, statutory safety checks or set-up work to show support is more than minimal.
Evidence
A proportionate CSS evidence set for a scheme and a claimant:
| Level | Evidence | Chapter |
|---|---|---|
| Scheme | Service description, including IHM breakdown, on-call arrangements and staffing | 13 |
| Scheme | Comparison with general needs management | 7 |
| Scheme | Activity matrix (15.6) | 15 |
| Claimant | Needs assessment and support plan | 14 |
| Claimant | Summary activity record for the period (Appendix 7) | 14, 15 |
| Claimant | Repairs, call-out and intervention records, summarised | 15 |
| Claimant | Plan reviews showing outcomes | 14 |
Finding common ground
Start with the matrix. A shared activity matrix lets both sides see, in one table, what is done, why, how often and whether it is eligible. Disagreements can then be narrowed to particular activities.
Agree what records will be kept. Providers and councils can agree on the format of activity summaries, repair logs, and call-out logs in advance, so the evidence is ready when needed.
Look at the risks, not just the numbers. Supervision is about preventing harm. Discussing tenants’ risks, not just the number of incidents, gives a fairer picture of whether supervision is needed.
Sample, then trust. Where a sample of claimants shows the scheme works as described, both sides can agree to rely on scheme-level evidence and lighter claimant-level checks until the next review (Chapter 12, 12.2).
Key cases and cross-references
| Case | Point | Chapter |
|---|---|---|
| Chorley BC v IT [2009] UKUT 107 (AAC), [2010] AACR 2 | Meaning of support; general needs comparator; when repairs and maintenance are support | 6, 7, 15 |
| Chorley BC v EM [2009] UKUT 108 (AAC) | Arranging works around tenants’ needs; checks beyond statutory duties; property visits | 6, 7, 15 |
| DW v Oxford CC [2012] UKUT 52 (AAC) (CH/1344/2011) | What the landlord actually does; real prospect of need; tenant disputes | 6, 7, 8, 15 |
| Bristol CC v AW [2009] UKUT 109 (AAC) | The “real difference” test | 7, 8, 15 |
| MMcF v Sefton BC [2016] UKUT 403 (AAC) (CH/1286/2016) | Evidence to examine; support must meet a need | 6, 8, 15 |
| Allerdale BC v JD and Others [2019] UKUT 304 (AAC) | IHM eligibility activity by activity | 7, 9, 15 |
| R(H) 4/09 | Prudent landlord test; rarely used support | 6, 7, 8, 15 |
| R(H) 6/08 | Care and supervision must actually be provided | 6, 8, 15 |
| R(A) 2/75 | Supervision can be precautionary and anticipatory | 6, 15 |
| CH/1289/2007 | No hours minimum | 8, 15 |
- Related chapters: Chapter 3 (3.4); Chapter 5 (support on the landlord’s behalf); Chapter 6 (meaning of CSS); Chapter 7 (IHM and maintenance); Chapter 8 (“more than minimal”); Chapter 9 (service charges); Chapters 13 and 14 (scheme and claimant evidence)
- Appendices: Appendix 5 (claimant evidence checklist); Appendix 6 (needs assessment and CSS plan); Appendix 7 (activity log); Appendix 8 (rent and service charge build-up)
Sources
- DWP guidance for supported housing claims: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/housing-benefit-guidance-for-supported-housing-claims/housing-benefit-guidance-for-supported-housing-claims
- Chorley BC v IT summary: https://www.mrassociates.org/knowledge-base/case-law/chorley-bc-v-it-2009-ukut-107-aac-2010-aacr-2-ch-150-2007-final-decision
- Chorley BC v EM summary: https://www.mrassociates.org/knowledge-base/case-law/chorley-bc-v-em-2009-ukut-108-aac-ch-4432-2006-and-others-final-decision
- DW v Oxford CC summary: https://www.mrassociates.org/knowledge-base/case-law/dw-v-oxford-cc-2012-ukut-52-aac-ch-1344-2011
- Bristol City Council v AW [2009] UKUT 109 (AAC): https://administrativeappeals.decisions.tribunals.gov.uk/judgmentfiles/j2715/CH%200200%202009-00.doc
- MMcF v Sefton BC [2016] UKUT 403 (AAC): https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/57ed1a89e5274a0eb7000014/CH_1286_2016-00.pdf
- Allerdale BC v JD and Others [2019] UKUT 304 (AAC): https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5dca92caed915d4e8517d9ab/CH_28_31_34_36_2019-00.pdf
- R(H) 4/09: https://hbinfo.org/wp-content/uploads/r_h_4_09.rtf
- CH/1289/2007: https://hbinfo.org/wp-content/uploads/caselaw/ch_1289_2007.doc
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