Managing Housing Benefit Claims in Supported Housing | Part E: Tools and Appendices
This appendix is a model for setting out how a scheme’s rent and service charges are made up, with a worksheet for apportioning staff time and other mixed costs. It puts Chapter 9 (9.3 and 9.4), Chapter 10 (10.8 and 10.9) and Chapter 13 (13.5) into practice. It has five parts:
- Part A: scheme details
- Part B: the build-up
- Part C: apportionment worksheet for staff and other mixed costs
- Part D: year-on-year comparison, for rent increases
- Part E: a worked example, for the shared house used in Appendices 6 and 7
Why a build-up matters. The DWP guidance says councils “should request a rent breakdown from the landlord which sets out all the charges included in the rent and service charges when a new claim or rent increase is submitted” (para 168; also para 196). On an increase, they should compare it with the previous year’s “to identify why the rent has increased and whether it is justifiable” (para 238). A clear build-up answers three questions at once: what is eligible (Chapter 9), whether any eligible charge is excessive (Schedule 1, para 4), and whether the eligible rent as a whole is unreasonably high (Chapter 10).
Status of the model. No particular format is required by law. Providers can use their own format where it gives the same information. Councils and providers can agree a local version of this template, so that both look at the same figures in the same order (Chapter 10, Finding common ground).
Principles.
- Start from costs. Use actual costs for the last full year, or a budget for a new scheme, and say which.
- Separate the core rent from service charges. Lease or property costs, repairs, long-term maintenance, general housing management, insurance, voids and bad debts are rent. They are tested as part of the whole under regulation 13, not picked off as ineligible service charges (CH/3528/2006; Chapter 10, 10.9).
- Identify every service charge and its treatment. Mark each one eligible or ineligible, using Chapter 9 (9.4).
- Apportion mixed costs by a stated method. Where a cost covers both eligible and ineligible services, apportion it by a reasonable, consistent method, usually staff time (Schedule 1, para 3(1); ET v Rossendale BC [2010] UKUT 222 (AAC), para 39).
- Apply overheads and allowances pro rata. Where a percentage for overheads or voids is applied to every line, the part that falls on ineligible lines is ineligible too (Allerdale BC v JD and Others [2019] UKUT 304 (AAC), paras 37 and 38).
- Evidence voids and bad debts. There is no standard percentage. Use the scheme’s actual history (ET v Rossendale, paras 41 to 43).
- Show the eligible rent. The eligible rent is the core rent plus eligible service charges. Ineligible costs must be shown, with how they are funded.
- Treat it as commercially sensitive. Councils should hold build-ups in confidence and limit who sees them (Chapter 13, 13.2).
SHP’s position. The build-up should show what the scheme actually costs to run. There is no need to add an ineligible “support charge” to show that support exists. Where personal support is provided, the build-up should apportion its true cost and show how it is funded. Housing-related support and supervision delivered as intensive housing management are eligible (Chapter 3, 3.4; Chapter 9).
Part A: Scheme details
| Field | Entry |
|---|---|
| Scheme name and provider | |
| Addresses, number of units or bedspaces, and type (shared, self-contained, dispersed) | |
| Period covered (financial year) and basis (actual costs or budget) | |
| Occupancy assumption used for the per unit figures | |
| Lease or property arrangement (Appendix 4, A2.2) | |
| Prepared by, role and date |
Part B: The build-up
Show each line as an annual cost and a weekly figure per unit. The weekly figure is the annual cost divided by the number of units and 52.
| Line | Item | £ per year | £ per unit per week | Treatment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Core rent | |||
| 1.1 | Lease payment or property costs (capital, loan or lease) | Rent | ||
| 1.2 | Responsive and cyclical repairs | Rent | ||
| 1.3 | Planned maintenance or sinking fund for long-term maintenance (DWP guidance, paras 172 and 173) | Rent | ||
| 1.4 | General housing management | Rent | ||
| 1.5 | Buildings insurance | Rent | ||
| 1.6 | Voids and bad debts (state the basis) | Rent | ||
| Core rent total | ||||
| 2 | Eligible service charges | |||
| 2.1 | Intensive housing management (from Part C) | Eligible | ||
| 2.2 | Housing-related support (from Part C) | Eligible | ||
| 2.3 | Supervision, including on-call cover (from Part C) | Eligible | ||
| 2.4 | Communal cleaning | Eligible | ||
| 2.5 | Communal fuel, lighting and water | Eligible | ||
| 2.6 | Furniture and white goods that remain the landlord’s | Eligible | ||
| 2.7 | Door entry, fire alarm and other building services | Eligible | ||
| 2.8 | Other eligible services (list) | Eligible | ||
| 2.9 | Overheads on eligible services (state the basis) | Eligible | ||
| 2.10 | Voids and bad debts on eligible services | Eligible | ||
| Eligible service charges total | ||||
| Eligible rent (core rent plus eligible service charges) | Housing Benefit | |||
| 3 | Ineligible costs | |||
| 3.1 | Personal support (from Part C) | Ineligible | ||
| 3.2 | Fuel and water for tenants’ own rooms | Ineligible | ||
| 3.3 | Meals, laundry service, emergency alarm, TV licence and other ineligible items (list) | Ineligible | ||
| 3.4 | Overheads, voids and bad debts on ineligible costs | Ineligible | ||
| Ineligible costs total |
How ineligible costs are funded. For each ineligible line, say whether it is charged to the tenant, funded by a commissioner or grant, or met from the provider’s own funds (DWP guidance, paras 160 to 162).
Part C: Apportionment worksheet
Use this worksheet for every cost that covers more than one type of service, which in most schemes is mainly staff time. It follows the method in ET v Rossendale (para 39): the total cost of employing the staff, apportioned by the time they spend on each service.
C1. Staff costs charged to the scheme
| Role | Annual cost including on-costs (£) | Share charged to this scheme, and basis | £ to this scheme |
|---|---|---|---|
C2. How each role’s time is spent
Use the same type codes as Appendices 6 and 7: HRS (housing-related support), IHM (intensive housing management and maintenance), SUP (supervision), CPS (care or personal support), and HM (general housing management). Time on recording, travel and team meetings should be spread across the other activities in proportion, and the method stated.
| Role | Activity | % of time | Type | Treatment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
C3. Result
| Activity type | % of staff cost | £ per year | Build-up line |
|---|---|---|---|
| HM | 1.4 | ||
| IHM | 2.1 | ||
| HRS | 2.2 | ||
| SUP | 2.3 | ||
| CPS | 3.1 |
C4. Evidence for the apportionment
The case law expects “sufficiently detailed evidence of the amount of time devoted by staff” to each service (ET v Rossendale, para 20; Chapter 9, 9.3). Keep, and provide on request:
- job descriptions for each role
- contracted hours, and how many schemes and tenants each role covers
- what staff do in the time attributed to each service and in the rest of their time
- how the percentages were worked out, for example from a time recording sample or the activity logs in Appendix 7
- the basis for any overhead percentage, such as central costs as a share of total expenditure
Part D: Year-on-year comparison
Complete on every rent increase. Explain each material change (DWP guidance, para 238; Chapter 10, 10.8). The council must judge the increase in cash terms as well as percentage terms, and consider whether a lesser increase would be reasonable (BM; Chapter 10, 10.8).
| Item | Last year (£ per unit per week) | This year (£ per unit per week) | Change | Reason and evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eligible rent |
Part E: Worked example
This example is fictional. It is for the five-bedroom shared house for single homeless adults used in Appendices 6 and 7, with weekday visiting staff and 24-hour on-call cover. The figures are set at typical levels, using the published benchmarks below, but they are not a benchmark themselves. Actual costs vary widely by area, property and client group.
E1. Where the figures come from
| Benchmark | Typical figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Rent, excluding service charges, single homeless people | £178 a week (2022 to 2023) | Supported Housing Review 2023, Table 7.3 |
| Service charges, eligible and ineligible, single homeless people | £109 a week (2022 to 2023) | Supported Housing Review 2023, Table 7.4 |
| Share of rent and service charges eligible for Housing Benefit, single homeless people | 83% | Supported Housing Review 2023, Table 7.5 |
| Average eligible rent, working age, specified accommodation, England | £267 a week (November 2023) | Supported Housing Review 2023, Table 7.6, from DWP data |
| Property cost per tenant in a shared house | £100 a week (£1,300 a month for a three-bedroom house, 2022) | Bristol City Council, EXA 115 |
| Line-by-line enhanced exempt rent | £218.49 a week, including voids £15.05, staffing £56.10, communal cleaning £14.88 and communal lighting and heating £5.92 (2022) | Bristol City Council, EXA 115 |
The example uprates the Bristol property cost to £115 a week to allow for inflation and a larger house. Its totals sit close to the review’s figures: core rent £171.39, all service charges £129.16, eligible rent £257.54, and 86% of the total charge eligible.
E2. Scheme details
| Field | Entry |
|---|---|
| Scheme | Five-bedroom shared house for single homeless adults, let by a not-for-profit provider |
| Period and basis | Financial year, actual costs for the last full year |
| Occupancy assumption | Five units, 52 weeks. Voids and bad debts shown as a separate allowance |
| Lease | Ten-year full repairing and insuring lease from a private owner at £2,492 a month, with an annual CPI-linked uplift |
| Utilities | All utilities included in the charge. Split between communal areas and tenants’ own rooms by floor area |
E3. Apportionment worksheet
| Role | Annual cost including on-costs (£) | Share charged to this scheme, and basis | £ to this scheme |
|---|---|---|---|
| Support worker | 32,000 | One third: covers three houses, 15 tenants | 10,667 |
| Housing officer | 31,000 | One sixth: covers six houses, 30 tenants | 5,167 |
| On-call rota | 18,000 | One twelfth: covers 60 units | 1,500 |
| Role | Activity | % of time | Type | Treatment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Support worker | Tenancy sustainment, rent account checks, help with Housing Benefit, move-on planning | 50 | HRS | Eligible |
| Support worker | House checks, visitor and dispute interventions, welfare checks | 30 | SUP | Eligible |
| Support worker | Emotional support and living skills | 20 | CPS | Ineligible |
| Housing officer | Room and fire safety checks, hazard plans, repairs arranged around tenants’ needs | 60 | IHM | Eligible |
| Housing officer | Lettings, rent collection and general tenancy management | 40 | HM | Rent |
| On-call rota | Out-of-hours cover and call-outs | 100 | SUP | Eligible |
The support worker’s percentages are after spreading recording and travel time across the other activities in proportion. The 20% for personal support matches about 30 minutes a week for each tenant in Appendix 6.
E4. The build-up
| Line | Item | £ per year | £ per unit per week | Treatment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Core rent | |||
| 1.1 | Lease payment to owner (full repairing and insuring, CPI-linked) | 29,900 | 115.00 | Rent |
| 1.2 | Responsive and cyclical repairs | 3,120 | 12.00 | Rent |
| 1.3 | Planned maintenance provision (long-term maintenance) | 1,560 | 6.00 | Rent |
| 1.4 | General housing management: housing officer 40% (£2,067) and central lettings and rent collection (£2,600) | 4,667 | 17.95 | Rent |
| 1.5 | Buildings and contents insurance | 650 | 2.50 | Rent |
| 1.6 | Council tax, where the landlord is liable for a shared house | 1,365 | 5.25 | Rent |
| 1.7 | Voids and bad debts: 8% of lines 1.1 to 1.6 (actual: voids 7%, bad debts 1%, average of last two years) | 3,301 | 12.70 | Rent |
| Core rent total | 44,563 | 171.39 | ||
| 2 | Eligible service charges | |||
| 2.1 | Intensive housing management: housing officer 60% | 3,100 | 11.92 | Eligible |
| 2.2 | Housing-related support: support worker 50% | 5,333 | 20.51 | Eligible |
| 2.3 | Supervision, house checks and interventions: support worker 30% | 3,200 | 12.31 | Eligible |
| 2.4 | Supervision, 24-hour on-call: rota share | 1,500 | 5.77 | Eligible |
| 2.5 | Communal cleaning | 2,080 | 8.00 | Eligible |
| 2.6 | Communal fuel, lighting and water: communal share of utilities, by floor area | 1,560 | 6.00 | Eligible |
| 2.7 | Furniture and white goods (remain the landlord’s) | 1,430 | 5.50 | Eligible |
| 2.8 | Fire alarm, emergency lighting and door entry maintenance | 650 | 2.50 | Eligible |
| 2.9 | Central overheads: 10% of lines 2.1 to 2.8 | 1,885 | 7.25 | Eligible |
| 2.10 | Voids and bad debts: 8% of lines 2.1 to 2.9 | 1,659 | 6.38 | Eligible |
| Eligible service charges total | 22,398 | 86.15 | ||
| Eligible rent (core rent plus eligible service charges) | 66,960 | 257.54 | Housing Benefit | |
| 3 | Ineligible costs | |||
| 3.1 | Personal support: support worker 20% | 2,133 | 8.21 | Ineligible |
| 3.2 | Fuel and water for tenants’ own rooms: remaining share of utilities, by floor area | 7,280 | 28.00 | Ineligible |
| 3.3 | Central overheads: 10% of lines 3.1 and 3.2 | 941 | 3.62 | Ineligible |
| 3.4 | Voids and bad debts: 8% of lines 3.1 to 3.3 | 828 | 3.19 | Ineligible |
| Ineligible costs total | 11,183 | 43.01 |
How the ineligible costs are funded. The personal support (line 3.1, with its share of overheads and voids, £9.75 a week) is met from the provider’s own funds, such as charitable income or donations, and is not charged to tenants. Fuel and water for tenants’ own rooms (line 3.2, with its share of overheads and voids, £33.26 a week) is charged to each tenant as a personal charge, which Housing Benefit does not cover. Fuel for tenants’ own rooms is an ineligible service charge, deducted in full because it is specified (Schedule 1, Part 2, paras 5 and 6(1)(b)). Water for tenants’ own rooms is deducted under alternative regulation 12(3)(a) and (6)(b), which take off the share of the property’s water charges matching the floor area of the tenant’s own accommodation. The share for halls, passageways and rooms of common use stays in line 2.6 and is eligible (Liverpool City Council v NM and WD [2015] UKUT 532 (AAC), paras 31 and 36 to 38).
What the tenant pays and what Housing Benefit covers. The total weekly charge to each tenant is £290.80: the eligible rent of £257.54 and the personal fuel and water charge of £33.26.
Points to note.
- The core rent includes voids, long-term maintenance and general housing management. These are rent, not service charges (CH/3528/2006).
- The 8% allowance for voids and bad debts is based on the scheme’s actual history, not a standard figure (ET v Rossendale, paras 41 to 43). Short-stay homeless schemes often have higher turnover than other supported housing. The Bristol example’s voids line is about 7% of its total.
- The 10% central overhead is applied to service lines only, and falls pro rata on the ineligible lines (Allerdale, paras 37 and 38). The core rent carries its own management cost in line 1.4.
- Council tax (line 1.6) is included because the landlord, not the tenants, is liable for a shared house in multiple occupation. DWP’s guidance is that where rent is increased to cover the landlord’s council tax, the increase should be treated as rent and is eligible for Housing Benefit, but the total rent, including the council tax, must still be reasonable (Housing Benefit Guidance Manual, A4, paras 4.160 and 4.161). It should be shown as a separate line so that the council can check it against the council tax bill.
- The eligible rent is then tested as a whole for reasonableness under regulation 13, against suitable alternative accommodation (Chapter 10).
E5. Year-on-year comparison
| Item | Last year (£ per unit per week) | This year (£ per unit per week) | Change | Reason and evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lease payment (1.1) | 111.65 | 115.00 | +3.0% | CPI uplift under the lease; lease clause and CPI figure provided |
| Responsive and cyclical repairs (1.2) | 11.00 | 12.00 | +9.1% | Higher spend on damage linked to tenants’ needs; repairs log summary (Appendix 7, B1) |
| Eligible staff costs (2.1 to 2.4) | 48.57 | 50.51 | +4.0% | Pay award; no change in staffing or time split |
| Communal fuel, lighting and water (2.6) | 6.40 | 6.00 | -6.3% | Lower energy tariff |
| Eligible rent | 250.68 | 257.54 | +2.7%, £6.86 a week | The housing officer’s share of line 1.4 also rises with the pay award. All other lines unchanged |
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This template is licensed under CC BY 4.0: you can adapt it, with credit to SHP. See Rights and licence. Supported Housing People Ltd, Version 1.0, October 2026.