How should I set the rent in Shared Lives arrangements?

Setting up the rental fees

In live-in Shared Lives arrangements, the supported person pays rent to their Shared Lives carer for the bedroom they occupy.

Shared Lives Plus best practice is that:

1. The Shared Lives scheme should provide a recommended rental amount on the template license agreement, based on the one-bedroom Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rate for the for the area where the carer lives, at the beginning of the match.
2. The contribution should then be agreed between the Shared Lives carer and supported person and recorded in the formal licence agreement, which both parties sign.
3. The scheme should ensure that the signed licence agreement is in place before the arrangement begins, and that the amount is fair, reasonable and clearly understood by all parties.

The amount should be reviewed regularly to ensure it remains fair and reflects any significant changes in circumstances. This should happen particularly when the licence agreement is renewed, ideally annually.

Safeguarding and adult protection

When a supported person makes any type of financial contribution to their Shared Lives carer, schemes should consider the power imbalance between the two parties and the potential risk of financial abuse.

Schemes should also ensure that any relevant issues relating to:

• mental capacity or incapacity,
• representation,
• advocacy,
• undue influence and
• safeguarding/adult protection

have been appropriately considered before the agreement is signed.

Ensuring fairness

The amount set out in the licence agreement should be fair and reasonable to both parties, so that:

1. The Shared Lives carer receives a reasonable amount for the room they provide.
2. The supported person, who may have limited income and resources to assess value for money, pays a fair and proportionate amount.

Benchmarks and reasonable estimates

The Local Housing Allowance (LHA) is a useful benchmark when setting the rental amount. It is used by the DWP or Housing department of a Local Authority  to calculate the level of Universal Credit or Housing Benefit housing support that may be available to eligible private renters. You can discover the LHA rate for the area of any Shared Lives carer’s home here.

Where LHA applies, the relevant one-bedroom LHA rate for the area where the carer lives should normally provide the starting point for the rental amount. Most people supported in Shared Lives are eligible for the one-bedroom rate through their exemption from the shared accommodation rate through meeting one or more of several criteria. These criteria are listed by Gov.uk under “if you’re under 35 and live alone”. 

Where either DWP or the Housing department of the local authority dispute the supported person’s exemption from the shared accommodation rate, schemes can use this template letter to support their claim:

The one-bedroom LHA rate is the maximum that the DWP, or the Housing Benefit division in a Local Authority, will award a claimant. It is therefore the maximum that a supported person can draw down in benefits, and therefore pay towards their rent, without needing to find money elsewhere with which to pay. It is greater  than the shared accommodation rate.

LHA rates can change, so schemes should check the current rate and applicable rules when setting or reviewing the rental amount. Where LHA does not apply, the scheme should use an appropriate alternative benchmark.

The scheme, carer and supported person should consider whether the proposed amount is fair and proportionate in the circumstances of the arrangement.

Where Shared Lives carers don’t own their own home

Shared Lives carers who rent their home should obtain their landlord’s permission before becoming a live-in Shared Lives carer.

They may also need to tell their landlord about the arrangement and the rental amount the supported person will contribute. While a landlord cannot normally set the rental amount, they may be able to refuse permission for the arrangement if they consider the proposed terms unreasonable or the arrangement breaches their tenancy agreement.

Shared Lives carers should therefore check their tenancy agreement and discuss the arrangement with their landlord before a match begins.

If you have any questions regarding this infobank, please email membership@sharedlivesplus.org.uk