Back

 — Glossary

  1. Knowledge base
  2. Glossary
  3. Dwelling

Dwelling

Legal words

For Housing Benefit purposes a “dwelling” is defined in s137(1) of the Social Security (Contributions and Benefits) Act 1992 as follows:

“dwelling” means any residential accommodation, whether or not consisting of the whole or part of a building and whether or not comprising separate and self-contained premises;

In addition, Regulation 2(4) of the Housing Benefit Regulations 2006 says:

  1. For the purposes of these Regulations, the following shall be treated as included in a dwelling -

    • subject to sub-paragraphs (b) to (d) any land (whether or not occupied by a structure) which is used for the purposes of occupying a dwelling as a home where either–
      • the occupier of the dwelling acquired simultaneously the right to use the land and the right to occupy the dwelling, and, in the case of a person liable to pay rent for his dwelling, he could not have occupied that dwelling without also acquiring the right to use the land; or
    • the occupier of the dwelling has made or is making all reasonable efforts to terminate his liability to make payments in respect of the land;
    • where the dwelling is a caravan or mobile home, such of the land on which it stands as is used for the purposes of the dwelling;
    • where the dwelling is a houseboat, the land used for the purposes of mooring it;
    • where in Scotland, the dwelling is situated on or pertains to a croft within the meaning of section 3(1) of the Crofters (Scotland) Act 1993, the croft land on which it is situated or to which it pertains.
We use cookies to make your experience of our website better. Continuing on our website, you give us your consent to set these cookies.Find out moreThat’s OK