The rent payable to a voluntary housing body under the voluntary housing rental subsidy scheme is income-related and is standard throughout the country. Local authorities are responsible for the determination of the rents of their own dwellings and therefore rents payable by their tenants may vary depending on the local authority area in which the house is located. There is no requirement on local authorities to include a ceiling in their rent schemes although some authorities do so.
The rent payable under the rental subsidy scheme to an approved housing body by a tenant of a house qualifying for subsidy is based on household and subsidiary income in the previous tax year. There is no maximum on the rent payable in such cases. However, the supplement to the rent by reference to each subsidiary earner is subject to a maximum of £20 per week. Revised arrangements for the rental subsidy scheme, which came into effect on the 1st July, 1999 allow approved bodies some flexibility in relation to the rent terms applicable to their projects where they consider it appropriate, subject to the overall rent yield being not less than what would have been payable under the previous rents scheme.
Where a tenant of a dwelling provided under the rental subsidy scheme produces satisfactory evidence of a fall in income and of the likelihood of such a fall being sustained for at least four weeks, the weekly rent may be adjusted by the approved housing body to the level appropriate to the reduced rate of income for the full duration of the reduction in income.
In determining rents under the voluntary housing capital assistance scheme, approved bodies are expected to have regard to the tenant's income and the outlay of the body on the accommodation, including ongoing costs of its management and maintenance.
