Housing Benefit expenditure and assessment of rent and service charge increases
Case reference FOI2025/02503
Received 21 December 2025
Published 16 January 2026
Request
I am writing to request information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 in relation to your council’s Housing Benefit service, specifically concerning payments made in respect of properties owned or managed by GreenSquareAccord and the assessment of rent and service charge increases submitted by that landlord.
This request is made in the public interest and relates to transparency, accountability, and the stewardship of public funds. I am not seeking any personal data relating to individual tenants.
For the avoidance of doubt, where the information requested is held in part, in summary, or in aggregated form, I would be grateful for disclosure of what is held.
If any part of this request is refused, please specify the exemption relied upon and provide a clear explanation as required under the Act. If you consider that any element of this request would exceed the cost limit, I would be grateful if you could advise how it may be refined so that disclosure can be achieved.
1) Housing Benefit expenditure relating to GreenSquareAccord:
Please provide, for each of the last three completed financial years:
a) the total amount of Housing Benefit paid in respect of properties owned or managed by GreenSquareAccord within your local authority area; and
b) where held, the proportion of that Housing Benefit expenditure attributable specifically to eligible service charge elements, as distinct from core rent.
If Housing Benefit payments are not itemised in this way within your records, please confirm:
i) whether your systems distinguish between rent and eligible service charge elements at the point of assessment or payment; and
ii) what alternative breakdown, estimates, or proxy data is held that most closely reflects Housing Benefit paid toward GreenSquareAccord service charges.
If no such breakdown is held, please confirm this explicitly.
2) Policies, guidance, and procedures:
Please provide copies of any written policies, internal guidance, procedures, or training materials used by your council’s Housing Benefit service when assessing the reasonableness of rent and service charge increases for social housing tenants.
This should include, but not be limited to:
i) any criteria or thresholds used to determine when an increase is considered significant or requires further questioning; and
ii) guidance on the types of evidence landlords are expected to provide where charges are queried.
3) Frequency of challenges to landlords’ charges:
For each of the last five financial years, please provide:
a) the number of occasions on which your council’s Housing Benefit service queried, challenged, or rejected proposed rent or service charge increases submitted by social housing landlords; and
b) the outcomes of those challenges (for example, charges reduced, removed, amended, or accepted following explanation).
Where available, please provide this information broken down by landlord.
4) Information relating specifically to GreenSquareAccord
For the last five financial years, please confirm:
a) the number of occasions on which your council queried or discussed rent or service charge increases submitted by GreenSquareAccord;
b) the general nature of the issues raised (for example, scale of increase, introduction of new charges, utility cost increases); and
c) whether any elements of GreenSquareAccord’s proposed charges were removed, amended, or excluded from Housing Benefit eligibility following council review.
I am not requesting tenant-specific or personally identifiable information.
5) Evidence reviewed during assessments:
Please provide:
a) a list of the types of information or documentation typically reviewed by the Housing Benefit service when assessing rent and service charge increases;
b) confirmation of whether original invoices or underlying financial records are ever reviewed as part of this process; and
c) confirmation of whether assessments rely primarily on summaries or explanations supplied by landlords.
6) Retrospective corrections and overpayments:
Please confirm:
a) whether your council has identified cases in the last five financial years where Housing Benefit was paid on the basis of rent or service charges later found to be incorrect, ineligible, or overstated;
b) how such cases are handled (for example, recovery from landlords or adjustment of future payments); and
c) the number of such cases identified, if recorded.
7) Meetings and communications with landlords:
Please provide:
a) dates of meetings (and agendas or summaries where available) between your council and social housing landlords in the last five financial years where rent or service charge increases were discussed; and
b) any standard or template correspondence used by the Housing Benefit service when querying landlords’ proposed charges.
8) Impact on Housing Benefit claimants:
Please provide any guidance, assessments, or internal documentation held that considers the impact of rent or service charge increases on Housing Benefit claimants, including circumstances where charges are disputed but continue to be collected.
Response
I am writing to request information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 in relation to your council’s Housing Benefit service, specifically concerning payments made in respect of properties owned or managed by GreenSquareAccord and the assessment of rent and service charge increases submitted by that landlord.
This request is made in the public interest and relates to transparency, accountability, and the stewardship of public funds. I am not seeking any personal data relating to individual tenants.
For the avoidance of doubt, where the information requested is held in part, in summary, or in aggregated form, I would be grateful for disclosure of what is held.
If any part of this request is refused, please specify the exemption relied upon and provide a clear explanation as required under the Act. If you consider that any element of this request would exceed the cost limit, I would be grateful if you could advise how it may be refined so that disclosure can be achieved.
1) Housing Benefit expenditure relating to GreenSquareAccord:
Please provide, for each of the last three completed financial years:
a) the total amount of Housing Benefit paid in respect of properties owned or managed by GreenSquareAccord within your local authority area; and
Answer: Please see the table below:
|
2022/23 |
£6,864.52 |
|
2023/24 |
£7,271.08 |
|
2024/25 |
£7,486.25 |
b) where held, the proportion of that Housing Benefit expenditure attributable specifically to eligible service charge elements, as distinct from core rent.
Answer: The Service Area have advised 0% of that Housing Benefit expenditure was attributed to service charges per evidence of rent provided.
If Housing Benefit payments are not itemised in this way within your records, please confirm:
i) whether your systems distinguish between rent and eligible service charge elements at the point of assessment or payment; and
Answer: The Service Area have advised we do not distinguish between rent and eligible service charges unless the claim is determined to be specified accommodation.
ii) what alternative breakdown, estimates, or proxy data is held that most closely reflects Housing Benefit paid toward GreenSquareAccord service charges.
Answer: The Service Area have advised evidence is provided by the Housing Benefit claimant.
If no such breakdown is held, please confirm this explicitly.
Answer: N/A
2) Policies, guidance, and procedures:
Please provide copies of any written policies, internal guidance, procedures, or training materials used by your council’s Housing Benefit service when assessing the reasonableness of rent and service charge increases for social housing tenants.
This should include, but not be limited to:
i) any criteria or thresholds used to determine when an increase is considered significant or requires further questioning; and
ii) guidance on the types of evidence landlords are expected to provide where charges are queried.
Answer: For questions 2i and 2ii above, the Service Area have advised the reasonableness of rent and service charge increases are determined by managers within the Revenues and Benefits Section. Consideration is given to the total rent charged by the social landlord, the individual service charge amounts and any increases on previous years. Comparisons are made to other landlords of similar properties where appropriate.
3) Frequency of challenges to landlords’ charges:
For each of the last five financial years, please provide:
a) the number of occasions on which your council’s Housing Benefit service queried, challenged, or rejected proposed rent or service charge increases submitted by social housing landlords; and
Answer: The Service Area have advised we review all specified exempt accommodation charges on the start of a new scheme to ensure the charges are accurate and eligible for housing benefit
Specified accommodation charges may also be challenged when the annual rent changes are provided. This happens if there is a significant increase from the previous year and evidence for that increase is then requested.
b) the outcomes of those challenges (for example, charges reduced, removed, amended, or accepted following explanation).
Where available, please provide this information broken down by landlord.
Answer: This information is not held. The Service Area have advised once charges have been agreed we update our information and so do not hold records of this as we will have reached an agreement on what is eligible for housing benefit to pay.
If the Landlord can provide evidence for eligible service charges, we will then review them. If they are not able to, we will potentially reduce the charge to an amount that has been benchmarked for a similar service and scheme in line with the CPI.
An example of a type of charge we would challenge would be a 15% management charge. We will only pay 10% unless evidence to support the 15% can be provided. Another would be void costs where we would ask for evidence of the voids for the property.
4) Information relating specifically to GreenSquareAccord
For the last five financial years, please confirm:
a) the number of occasions on which your council queried or discussed rent or service charge increases submitted by GreenSquareAccord;
Answer: None
b) the general nature of the issues raised (for example, scale of increase, introduction of new charges, utility cost increases); and
Answer: N/A
c) whether any elements of GreenSquareAccord’s proposed charges were removed, amended, or excluded from Housing Benefit eligibility following council review.
I am not requesting tenant-specific or personally identifiable information.
Answer: N/A
5) Evidence reviewed during assessments:
Please provide:
a) a list of the types of information or documentation typically reviewed by the Housing Benefit service when assessing rent and service charge increases;
Answer: The Service Area have advised the following:
· Rent increase letters provided by the Housing Benefit claimant.
· Information provided direct from the social landlord including breakdowns of charges.
· Information provided by other social landlords (for comparison purposes).
b) confirmation of whether original invoices or underlying financial records are ever reviewed as part of this process; and
Answer: The Service Area have advised yes, financial records may be reviewed where appropriate, for example a large increase in a charge or the introduction of a new charge.
c) confirmation of whether assessments rely primarily on summaries or explanations supplied by landlords.
Answer: The Service Area have advised the majority of social landlords provide evidence of rent changes direct to us to improve efficiency, however it always remains the responsibility of the Housing Benefit claimant to notify us of all changes that may affect their entitlement.
6) Retrospective corrections and overpayments:
Please confirm:
a) whether your council has identified cases in the last five financial years where Housing Benefit was paid on the basis of rent or service charges later found to be incorrect, ineligible, or overstated;
Answer: Yes
b) how such cases are handled (for example, recovery from landlords or adjustment of future payments); and
Answer: The Service Area have advised recovery is sought direct from the landlord as the error is theirs.
c) the number of such cases identified, if recorded.
Answer: This information is not recorded.
7) Meetings and communications with landlords:
Please provide:
a) dates of meetings (and agendas or summaries where available) between your council and social housing landlords in the last five financial years where rent or service charge increases were discussed; and
Answer: The Service Area have advised we only hold meetings at the start of a new specified exempt accommodation scheme if there is something the landlord particularly wishes to discuss. This is rare as most landlords are aware of the information and evidence that needs to be supplied. This is generally only for specified exempt accommodation and not general needs accommodation.
We have met with 3 social landlords as follows:
· Connexus: 19th November 2020
· Ethos: 23rd April 2024
· Platform Housing: 13th May 2025
The meetings were informal to discuss potential charges and so were not documented. Generally the meetings would be to get an understanding of the charges and to advise if we required further information or clarification.
b) any standard or template correspondence used by the Housing Benefit service when querying landlords’ proposed charges.
Answer: This information is not held. The Service Area have advised no template exists as any queries regarding charges are specific to each landlord.
8) Impact on Housing Benefit claimants:
Please provide any guidance, assessments, or internal documentation held that considers the impact of rent or service charge increases on Housing Benefit claimants, including circumstances where charges are disputed but continue to be collected.
Answer: This information is not held. The Service Area have advised no documentation is held as each claim in considered on its own basis. A Housing Benefit claimant will receive notification of any change that affects their award. They can request a further explanation, reconsideration or appeal if they disagree with how their award has been calculated, including if they disagree with how the eligible rent for Housing Benefit purposes has been calculated.
Documents
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