Guidance

S3/2019: Rent Rebate Subsidy Limitation information 2019-20

Updated 27 November 2019

Applies to England and Wales

Who should read

All Housing Benefit staff and Officers preparing subsidy claims and estimates.

Action

For information

Guidance Manual

The information in this circular does not affect the content of the HB Guidance Manual.

Queries

See our Housing Benefit subsidy circular page if you want extra copies of this circular and copies of previous circulars.

For technical content queries of this circular, contact:
Email: hbsubsidy.queries@dwp.gsi.gov.uk

For distribution of this circular, contact:
housing.correspondenceandpqs@dwp.gsi.gov.uk

Introduction

1. This circular contains details of the Rent Rebate Subsidy Limitation (RRSL) arrangements. Provisions for the 2019-20 arrangements are being made by an Amendment Order to the Income-related Benefits (Subsidy to Authorities) Order 1998. This Order is subject to consultation with the Local Authority Associations before being laid before Parliament.

RRSL Scheme in England

2. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government wrote to English local authorities (LAs) in March 2019 explaining the methodology used for the calculation of limit rents for 2019-20 and how the calculation reflects the rent reduction measures introduced in April 2016. These calculations are similar to last year’s and include the calculation of limit rents relating to Private Finance Initiative (PFI), supported housing stock and refuge units where there are exceptions in place from the rent reduction measures. The 2019-20 limit rents in England are set out in Annex A.

3. For the 2019-20 RRSL calculation the rebate proportion is 0.726.

RRSL Scheme in Wales

4. The Welsh Government wrote to Welsh LAs in January 2019 to consult on the calculation of draft Limit Rents for 2019-20. LAs were notified of the final Limit Rents in February 2019. The specific amounts (‘O’) and guideline weekly rent increases (‘P’) for determining RRSL are set out in Annex B.

5. For the 2019-20 RRSL calculation the rebate proportion is 0.66.

Amendment to the Subsidy Order

6. The Secretary of State for the Department for Work and Pensions will make an amending Subsidy Order, following a statutory consultation period, publishing limit rents for English LAs; together with the specified amounts and guideline rent increases for Welsh LAs, to be used in both England and Wales to determine subsidy limitation deductions.

Limit rents 2019-20 – England (adjusted for PFI, supported housing stock and refuge units)

Local authority	Limit rent
Adur	£92.74
Arun	£89.61
Ashfield	£67.35
Ashford	£88.34
Babergh	£88.19
Barking	£96.76
Barnet	£106.92
Barnsley	£73.76
Barrow	£74.11
Basildon	£86.68
Bassetlaw	£71.55
Birmingham	£81.75
Blackpool	£70.38
Bolsover	£80.74
Bournemouth and Poole	£83.28
Brent	£114.56
Brentwood	£93.42
Brighton & Hove	£83.33
Bristol	£80.06
Broxtowe	£73.44
Bury	£75.66
Cambridge	£101.68
Camden	£119.96
Cannock Chase	£74.65
Canterbury	£87.18
Castle Point	£87.23
Central Bedfordshire	£100.47
Charnwood	£73.36
Cheltenham	£79.32
Cheshire West	£81.37
Chesterfield	£78.70
City of London	£105.18
City of York	£78.33
Colchester	£86.43
Corby	£77.80
Cornwall	£70.08
Crawley	£101.89
Croydon	£104.75
Dacorum	£107.05
Darlington	£70.29
Dartford	£88.91
Derby	£77.72
Doncaster	£72.31
Dover	£83.22
Dudley	£81.68
Ealing	£100.33
East Devon	£80.67
East Riding	£78.26
Eastbourne	£78.54
Enfield	£100.09
Epping Forest	£98.19
Exeter	£74.33
Fareham	£89.79
Gateshead	£75.55
Gosport	£82.77
Gravesham	£88.55
Great Yarmouth	£73.91
Greenwich	£101.95
Guildford	£109.37
Hackney	£99.78
Hammersmith	£114.73
Haringey	£105.15
Harlow	£90.95
Harrogate	£79.68
Harrow	£112.41
Hartlepool	£99.62
Havering	£95.42
High Peak	£72.27
Hillingdon	£107.95
Hinckley	£77.46
Hounslow	£101.42
Ipswich	£81.21
Islington	£120.97
Kensington	£126.61
Kettering	£80.44
Kingston upon Hull	£74.19
Kingston upon Thames	£110.84
Kirklees	£68.93
Lambeth	£107.73
Lancaster	£76.32
Leeds	£73.45
Leicester	£70.93
Lewes	£88.40
Lewisham	£95.33
Lincoln	£67.96
Luton	£85.60
Manchester	£73.88
Mansfield	£72.29
Medway Towns	£80.94
Melton	£76.24
Mid Devon	£77.70
Mid Suffolk	£81.36
Milton Keynes	£84.82
North East Derbyshire	£80.33
New Forest	£98.28
Newark	£77.11
Newcastle upon Tyne	£74.33
Newham	£97.10
North Kesteven	£75.73
North Tyneside	£75.67
North Warwick	£86.86
Northampton	£82.19
Northumberland	£67.56
Norwich	£78.40
Nottingham	£74.09
Nuneaton	£77.25
North West Leicester	£78.16
Oadby & Wigston	£78.35
Oldham	£82.05
Oxford City	£107.80
Portsmouth	£83.94
Reading	£103.81
Redbridge	£101.56
Redditch	£77.18
Richmondshire	£76.79
Rotherham	£75.00
Rugby	£85.62
Runnymede	£109.15
Salford	£82.92
Sandwell	£80.42
Sedgemoor	£76.77
Selby	£77.43
Sheffield	£71.03
Shepway	£83.18
Shropshire	£80.54
Slough	£105.09
Solihull	£81.26
South Cambridge	£105.84
South Derby	£78.98
South Holland	£74.82
South Kesteven	£77.81
South Tyneside	£74.47
Southampton	£83.87
Southend-on-Sea	£84.89
Southwark	£106.80
St Albans	£112.61
Stevenage	£96.83
Stockport	£73.80
Stoke-on-Trent	£69.65
Stroud	£81.52
Sutton	£105.86
Swindon	£81.90
Tamworth	£79.33
Tandridge	£97.19
Taunton Deane	£81.37
Tendring	£82.93
Thanet	£80.02
Thurrock	£85.01
Tower Hamlets	£109.61
Uttlesford	£97.43
Waltham Forest	£100.93
Wandsworth	£123.52
Warwick	£92.68
Waveney	£79.55
Waverley	£113.30
Wealden	£83.77
Welwyn Hatfield	£106.96
West Lancashire	£75.29
Westminster	£123.75
Wigan	£76.07
Wiltshire	£87.15
Winchester	£100.29
Woking	£103.09
Wokingham	£114.08
Wolverhampton	£78.84

Specified amounts and guideline rent increases 2019-20 – Wales

Local authority	Specified amount ‘O’	Guideline rent increase ‘P’
Caerphilly	91.72	4.05
Cardiff	102.98	4.44
Carmarthenshire	91.24	4.05
Denbighshire	88.96	4.10
Flintshire	92.37	4.17
Isle of Anglesey	88.11	4.09
Pembrokeshire	92.19	3.90
Powys	93.08	4.07
Swansea	90.10	4.15
Vale of Glamorgan	99.69	4.25
Wrexham	91.34	4.11