What the model does
has_non_dependant_for_severe_disability_premium (BenUnit) bars the legacy severe disability premium where a non-dependant aged 18 or over lives in the household. It counts every household member at or over gov.dwp.disability_premia.severe_non_dependant_age who is neither blind nor receiving a qualifying benefit, less the claimant's own family (claimant, partner, and Child Benefit children and qualifying young persons). Its documentation says the model "cannot identify the other people the Regulations exclude from the definition (for example joint occupiers, commercial lodgers or landlords, and carers engaged by a charity)".
So an adult in a sharer family, who is jointly or separately liable for the rent, counts as the claimant's non-dependant.
The law
Housing Benefit Regulations 2006 (SI 2006/213) reg 3, read on legislation.gov.uk on 2026-10-07:
- Reg 3(2)(d) takes out of "non-dependant" "a person who jointly occupies the claimant's dwelling and is either a co-owner of that dwelling with the claimant or his partner ... or is liable with the claimant or his partner to make payments in respect of his occupation of the dwelling" (subject to reg 3(3), which concerns people treated as not liable under reg 9(1)).
- Reg 3(4) says a person resides with another "only if they share any accommodation except a bathroom, a lavatory or a communal area ... but not if each person is separately liable to make payments in respect of his occupation of the dwelling to the landlord".
The variable's reference list also cites the parallel definitions in SI 2006/214 reg 3 and SI 1987/1967 reg 3; check them when fixing this.
Why it can be fixed now
#2006 added liable_for_share_of_household_rent (BenUnit). It marks a family that shares liability for the household's rent with the head's family, either as a joint tenant or as a sharer with its own agreement for part of the same accommodation. Those are the people reg 3(2)(d) and 3(4) exclude.
Effect seen in tests
In #2015's property tests (CI on 2b5ffe38d, reproduced in that PR's after-merge review), a Welsh sharer's simulated Council Tax Reduction moved from £840.79 to £0 when another family's disability benefits changed. That family's swapped-in DLA care was below the qualifying rate, so has_non_dependant_for_severe_disability_premium flipped from false to true and changed the sharer's applicable amount. #2015's property 4 now holds the means test fixed so that its own claim (no other family's circumstances reach a family's scheme or exemption) is tested in isolation.
Related
🤖 Generated with Claude Code
What the model does
has_non_dependant_for_severe_disability_premium(BenUnit) bars the legacy severe disability premium where a non-dependant aged 18 or over lives in the household. It counts every household member at or overgov.dwp.disability_premia.severe_non_dependant_agewho is neither blind nor receiving a qualifying benefit, less the claimant's own family (claimant, partner, and Child Benefit children and qualifying young persons). Its documentation says the model "cannot identify the other people the Regulations exclude from the definition (for example joint occupiers, commercial lodgers or landlords, and carers engaged by a charity)".So an adult in a sharer family, who is jointly or separately liable for the rent, counts as the claimant's non-dependant.
The law
Housing Benefit Regulations 2006 (SI 2006/213) reg 3, read on legislation.gov.uk on 2026-10-07:
The variable's reference list also cites the parallel definitions in SI 2006/214 reg 3 and SI 1987/1967 reg 3; check them when fixing this.
Why it can be fixed now
#2006 added
liable_for_share_of_household_rent(BenUnit). It marks a family that shares liability for the household's rent with the head's family, either as a joint tenant or as a sharer with its own agreement for part of the same accommodation. Those are the people reg 3(2)(d) and 3(4) exclude.Effect seen in tests
In #2015's property tests (CI on
2b5ffe38d, reproduced in that PR's after-merge review), a Welsh sharer's simulated Council Tax Reduction moved from £840.79 to £0 when another family's disability benefits changed. That family's swapped-in DLA care was below the qualifying rate, sohas_non_dependant_for_severe_disability_premiumflipped from false to true and changed the sharer's applicable amount. #2015's property 4 now holds the means test fixed so that its own claim (no other family's circumstances reach a family's scheme or exemption) is tested in isolation.Related
🤖 Generated with Claude Code