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Written question asked by Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour) on Tuesday, 9 December 2025, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 23 December 2025. It was answered by Baroness Sherlock (Labour) on Tuesday, 23 December 2025 on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions.

Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing

Question

To ask His Majesty's Government how many people were affected by the under-occupancy charge in each of the past five years.

Answer

Department for Work and Pensions administrative data on the number of people affected by the under-occupancy charge, formally known as the Removal of the Spare Room Subsidy (RSRS), in Housing Benefit and Universal Credit, is shown in the table below. The figures represent the position as of August for each year from 2020 to 2025.

This information is publicly available through the DWP’s Stat-Xplore service at https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk.

Aug-20

Aug-21

Aug-22

Aug-23

Aug-24

Aug-25

RSRS HB Caseload

260,395

229,360

201,132

176,891

150,165

40,136

RSRS UCHE Caseload

230,495

265,743

283,078

303,872

333,692

427,268

RSRS HB and UCHE Caseload

490,890

495,103

484,210

480,763

483,857

467,404

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
HL12810
Session
2024-26
Subjects
Housing benefit Social rented housing Housing occupancy
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk