We often encounter a problem where the date of an annual rent increase does not coincide with the annual referral to the Rent Officer for HB assessment. The response from the RO/HB is that the entitlement cannot be reconsidered within the 12 months, despite the increase. This leaves the applicant with a potential shortfall to pay for a number of months while they wait for the anniversary of the RO assessment. We have been able to apply for DHP in such cases but these are now being refused. HB have told me that the eligible rent cannot be reconsidered unless there are structural alterations to the dwelling.

Is this is a common problem? Is there a way round it?

thanks

If the rent increase is under a term of the tenancy it triggers a further referral to the rent service as soon as it happens. However, there are some important conditions to this. The term has to have been in the tenancy at the time the previous referral was made, and the existing Rent Officer decision must NOT be that the rent is sigificantly or exceptionally high, or there must not be size-related determination due to the property being too large. The only other changes which have this effect are changes to number of occupier or change to fabric of the dwelling.

Otherwise it is 52 weeks and DHP is the only help I can see.

thanks for this reply, and sorry to haul this back to the top. Suspected this was the case - has always seemed slightly absurd to me(although I can sort-of understand the reasoning behind it),has the regulation ever been subject to legal challenge?

One way round it is to give your tenants 'contractual' agreements. Contractual tenancies should not be subject to the 52 week referral rule to the rent officer. The agreement either needs to list future rent increases or percentage increases and the date of the increases. If you don't wish to specify the exact of amount of a future increase, the agreement needs to say that if the rent is going to be increased, it will be increased every 52 weeks etc. Alternatively, you could ask your tenants to sign a deed of variation, which states that if the rent is going to be increased, it will be increased every 52 weeks etc. It is worth checking the wording with your local housing benefit office. Some housing benefit offices will accept that assured tenancies are contractual, as rent increases are implied.

This would work to a degree but would require alot of landlord co-operation in the private sector. It will also come unstuck if the RO decides at any point that the rent is significantly high. The problem is always that, even if you can get a RO to look at rent increase, you cannot be sure what they'll decide.

Whatever its drawbacks, Local Housing Allowance will give tenants more certainty that the current lottery does.