There is very well-settled case law that a room set aside for the use of carers and not personally used by the claimant is still part of the premises and the cost of it is part of the core rent rather than a service charge within the meaning of that term for HB purposes. This is especially the case when the claimant is the sole tenant of a self-contained property.
See [2009] UKUT 28 (AAC) which is very much on point. Whether the rent is reasonable is another question, but the difficulty of restricting rents in exempt accommodation is well known. If the landlord is a registered HA, relax – the government’s paying so what’s not to like?
