Social housing relief

Social housing relief can be sought for most social rent and affordable rent dwellings provided by a local authority or private registered provider, and some shared ownership dwellings. It can also apply to some rented dwellings provided by other landlords and to some low cost dwellings for sale.

Definition of social housing

Regulation 49 of the Community Infrastructure Levy Regulations (2010) requires that at least one of the following five conditions is met for social housing relief to apply:

  1. The dwelling is let by a local housing authority on a demoted tenancy, introductory tenancy, secure tenancy or an arrangement that would be a secure tenancy but for paragraph 4ZA or 12 of schedule 1 to the Housing Act 1985.
  2. All of the following are met:
    • the dwelling is occupied in accordance with shared ownership arrangements within the meaning of section 70(4) of the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008
    • the percentage of the value of the dwelling paid as a premium on the day on which a lease is granted under the shared ownership arrangement does not exceed 75% of the market value (where the market value at any time is the price which the dwelling might reasonably be expected to fetch if sold at that time on the open market)
    • on the day on which a lease is granted under the shared ownership arrangements, the annual rent payable is not more than 3% of the value of the unsold interest
    • in any given year the annual rent payable does not increase by more than the percentage increase in the retail prices index for the year to September immediately preceding the anniversary of the day on which the lease was granted plus 0.5%
  3. The dwelling is let by a private registered provider of social housing on an assured tenancy, an assured agricultural occupancy a demoted tenancy or an arrangement that would be an assured tenancy or assured agricultural occupancy but for paragraph 12 (1)(h) or 12ZA of schedule 1 to the Housing Act 1988 and one of the following criteria is also met:
    • the rent is subject to the national rent regime and regulated under a standard controlling rent set by the Regulator of Social Housing under section 194 of the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008
    • the rent is not subject to the national rent regime; not regulated under the standard controlling rents set by the Regulator of Social Housing under section 194 of the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008 and is no more than 80 per cent of market rent
    • the rent is not subject to the national rent regime and is regulated under a standard controlling rent set by the Regulator of Social Housing under section 194 of the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008 which requires an initial rent to be no more than 80 per cent of the market rent of the property (including service charges)
  4. The dwelling is let by a person who is not a local housing authority, a private registered provider of social housing or a registered social landlord on one of the following:
    • an assured tenancy, an assured agricultural tenancy or an arrangement that would be a secure tenancy or an assured agricultural occupancy but for paragraph 12 (1)(h) of schedule 1 to the Housing Act 1988
    • the dwelling is let to a person whose needs are not adequately served by the commercial housing market and the rent is no more than 80% of market rent (including service charges) and
    • a planning obligation under section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 to ensure compliance with the above has been entered into
  5. The first sale of the dwelling is for no more than 70% of its market value and a planning obligation has been entered into designed to ensure that any subsequent sale of the dwelling is for no more than 70% of its market value.

The council does not offer discretionary relief (under Regulation 49A of the CIL Regulations) for housing sold at 80% of market value.

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