Guide
Home loss payments explained — and how a Part 1 claim differs
A home loss payment is for being moved out of a home. A Part 1 claim is for a home that stays yours but is worth less because of the works next door. People arrive searching for one and need the other, so this page sets both out plainly.
- Home loss payment
- Paid when you are displaced from a home you occupied
- Part 1 claim
- Paid when no land is taken and you keep living there
- Also possible
- Disturbance and basic loss payments where land is acquired
- Our service
- Part 1 claims, with fees recovered from the authority
Who qualifies for a home loss payment
Broadly, someone displaced from a dwelling they have occupied as their only or main residence for at least a year before being displaced, where the displacement is caused by compulsory acquisition or certain related actions. Owner-occupiers and tenants both qualify, but they are paid on different bases.
How much is paid
Owner-occupiers receive a percentage of the market value of their interest, subject to a statutory floor and ceiling set by regulation and reviewed from time to time. Occupiers without an owning interest receive the flat statutory sum. Because those figures move, check the amounts in force at the date of displacement rather than relying on a figure quoted online.
If nothing is being taken from you
Then a home loss payment is not your route. What you are looking for is Part 1 of the Land Compensation Act 1973: compensation for the fall in your property’s value caused by noise, vibration, smell, fumes, smoke, artificial lighting or discharge from the use of new or altered public works. You claim it while still owning and living in the property, from twelve months after the works came into use.
Common questions
- What is a home loss payment?
- A home loss payment recognises the distress of being displaced from a home you have occupied, where you are required to move because land is being acquired. It is paid in addition to compensation for the property itself, and it is not a payment for any loss in value.
- How much is a home loss payment?
- For an owner-occupier it is a percentage of the market value of the interest, subject to a statutory minimum and maximum that are reviewed periodically by regulation. Occupiers with no owning interest, such as tenants, receive the flat statutory amount. Because the figures change, always confirm the current limits at the date you are displaced.
- Is a home loss payment taxable?
- For most displaced owner-occupiers no tax arises, but a home loss payment interacts with your wider tax position and with any capital sum received for the property itself. Confirm your own position with an accountant.
- Can I get a home loss payment and a Part 1 claim?
- Rarely the same event. A home loss payment arises because you are displaced from a home when land is acquired. A Part 1 claim arises when nothing is taken from you, you stay put, and the use of new public works has reduced your property's value. If land has been acquired from you as well, several heads of claim can run alongside each other and it is worth having them checked together.
Not sure which route is yours?
Answer a few questions and we will tell you whether a Part 1 claim fits your situation, and what to gather. Free, no account needed.