Housing Benefit claims for exempt accommodation
Case reference FOI2026/00800
Received 28 March 2026
Published 23 April 2026
Request
I am writing to request information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
Please provide the following information: The number of Housing Benefit claims for exempt accommodation made between 1st January 2020 and 31st December 2025, broken down by year.
The total expenditure on Housing Benefit for exempt accommodation between 1st January 2020 and 31st December 2025, broken down by year.
The number of distinct landlords OR providers receiving Housing Benefit payments for exempt accommodation between 1st January 2020 and 31st December 2025, broken down by year.
For clarity, “exempt accommodation” refers to accommodation where Housing Benefit is paid under the exempt accommodation provisions of the Housing Benefit Regulations.
If your authority records this under a different but equivalent category (e.g. specified accommodation), please provide the closest available data and specify the definition used. Please provide the information in either a PDF OR word OR excel document.
If this request exceeds the cost limit under Section 12, please provide advice and assistance under Section 16 as to how it may be refined. If you require any clarification, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Response
I am writing to request information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
Please provide the following information:
The number of Housing Benefit claims for exempt accommodation made between 1st January 2020 and 31st December 2025, broken down by year.
The total expenditure on Housing Benefit for exempt accommodation between 1st January 2020 and 31st December 2025, broken down by year.
The number of distinct landlords OR providers receiving Housing Benefit payments for exempt accommodation between 1st January 2020 and 31st December 2025, broken down by year.
For clarity, “exempt accommodation” refers to accommodation where Housing Benefit is paid under the exempt accommodation provisions of the Housing Benefit Regulations. If your authority records this under a different but equivalent category (e.g. specified accommodation), please provide the closest available data and specify the definition used.
Please provide the information in either a PDF OR word OR excel document.
If this request exceeds the cost limit under Section 12, please provide advice and assistance under Section 16 as to how it may be refined.
If you require any clarification, please do not hesitate to contact me.
A: Please find spreadsheet attached. Please note that the Service Area have only been recording specific information relating to exempt accommodation since 3rd April 2023.
Regarding the first question, the Service Area have advised that they do not separately record the total number of exempt accommodation claims that are received; however, they have provided the number of exempt accommodation claims that were in payment on 03.04.23, 31.12.23, 31.12.24 & 31.12.25 respectively as this is all that is held.
Documents
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