Registering an office or home

The office costs budget is provided to meet the costs of renting, equipping and running MPs’ constituency offices, surgeries, and other activities which support their parliamentary functions, where these costs are not covered by other budgets. [6.1]

All MPs are eligible to claim for office costs, whether or not they rent office premises. [6.2]

Rent cannot be claimed for a home office (and note that such an address will be treated as the MP’s home rather than an office, for travel claims). [6.8]

IPSA will pay for rent on an office only after it has been registered and accompanied by the required documentation including the MP's rental agreement. [6.13]

Claims for the following costs will only be allowed if the constituency or home office has been registered with IPSA, and comply with the requirements set out in Office costs you can claim:

• energy and water bills

• business rates (not for home offices)

• contents insurance

• buildings insurance (not for home offices)

• rental and usage costs for telephone and internet access [6.14]

For more information, visit Completing a Property Registration Form.

MPs are entitled to exercise reasonable discretion over claims for items that meet the purposes of the office costs budget, provided that the claims adhere to the fundamental principles and general conditions of the Scheme. [6.4]

They must also observe the conditions set out in Office costs you can claim.

A start-up supplement will be added to the office costs budget of newly elected MPs. It is designed to help new MPs meet the costs of setting up their constituency offices. [6.11]

The start-up supplement is available to new MPs for the duration of the financial year in which they were elected.

If a new MP is elected in the three months before the end of the relevant financial year, IPSA may exercise discretion in rolling forward all or part of the start-up supplement into the office costs budget for the following financial year. [6.12]

MPs can claim for the costs of more than one office provided that they stay within budget.

If you can demonstrate exceptional circumstances, you may be eligible for contingency funding to allow for the operation of more than one office. [6.3]

MPs and their staff may claim for the costs of a home office – if that is where they routinely work from.

IPSA will only pay claims for costs that are additional to those which are part of the normal cost of living in the home.

Staff members cannot claim for costs relating to a home office during the same period in which they are in receipt of the homeworking allowance. [6.6]

To be funded by IPSA, a constituency office must be located in the constituency, unless it is a home office.

A home office can be claimed for even if it is more than 20 miles from the constituency boundary. [6.7]

Rent cannot be claimed for a home office. The location will also be treated as the MP’s home rather than an office for the consideration of any travel claims. [6.8]

This is covered by Requesting additional budget.

For more information on using IPSA Online, visit Applying for contingency funding.

Removal costs for moving to new office premises may be claimed from the contingency budget. No pre-approval is required.

Other costs associated with moving, including any legal costs, must be claimed from the office costs budget. [6.9]

MPs may claim under office costs for "routine security measures", which are those not falling within the recommended or further measures funded from the security assistance budget [6.10]

For more information, visit Security measures & assistance.

When submitting claims for telephone calls, MPs should only claim for that proportion of the costs which has been incurred for parliamentary purposes. [6.34]

MPs may claim for pooled staffing services from either the office costs or staffing budget. [6.35]

Visit Staffing costs and Staffing costs you can claim for more information.

IPSA will not pay claims for any of the following:

• alcoholic drinks

• stationery provided by the House of Commons

• newsletters

• funding of any material, other than websites, that contains a party-political logo or emblem, or

• personal accountancy or tax advice [6.5]

If two or more MPs share rental accommodation, they must notify IPSA when they register the property.

The rental agreement must include the name of each MP sharing the accommodation. [4.21]

Each MP will be entitled to the full accommodation costs budget – and all costs claimed should be shared equally between those MPs. [4.22]

Where MPs grant a licence or give permission to any other person to use the constituency office or any part of it (such as a subletting arrangement), a fee must be charged which reflects an appropriate proportion of the rent and other costs incurred.

The fee must be remitted to IPSA in its entirety. [6.18]

The MP must notify IPSA at the start of a subletting/licensee-licensor arrangement, and provide information as required, including:

• a copy of the subletting/licensee-licensor agreement

• details of the sublessee/licensee

• the proportion of the property being sublet or occupied

• the fee being charged, and

• the frequency and form of repayment of such fees to IPSA [6.19]

IPSA will not cover any costs directly attributable to use of the office by the sublessee/licensee, including the cost of making good dilapidations or repairs as a result of damage caused by the actions of the sublessee/licensee.

IPSA will not cover costs exceeding the office costs budget limit which arise as a result of the subletting or licence arrangement coming to an end. [6.20]

A homeworking allowance is payable to MPs’ staff members who are working from home as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, to cover homeworking costs such as telephone, internet, electricity and gas usage.

These amounts will be paid directly to relevant staff members through the payroll, with the costs allocated to the office costs budget. [6.28]

The homeworking allowance amount will be the prevailing amount as set out in HMRC guidance as the maximum that can be paid to employees without evidence of the actual costs incurred.

Payment of this amount will be pro-rated for staff members who start or end their employment during a month. [6.29]

In respect of a staff member in receipt of the homeworking allowance, IPSA will not accept claims (or will seek repayment of claims already paid) for costs that are incurred as a result of homeworking and are additional to those which are part of the normal cost of living in the home, including:

• energy and water bills

• contents insurance, or

• rental and usage costs for telephone and internet access. [6.30]

If individual staff members are not working from home, or do not wish to be in receipt of the homeworking allowance, the employing MP must notify IPSA by the normal monthly deadline for payroll changes.

This also applies where staff members who were previously in receipt of the homeworking allowance have returned to their normal place of work (the constituency or Westminster office). [6.31]

IPSA may, in its discretion, determine whether and when to cease payment of the homeworking allowance and will provide reasonable notice, to be published on IPSA's website and communicated to MPs and their staff members. In making such determinations, IPSA will take into consideration government guidance relating to the coronavirus pandemic, as well as other relevant considerations. [6.32]

The Property Registration Form allows you to register a property with IPSA.

You should use this form to register your constituency office.

The Property Amendment Form allows you to Inform IPSA of any changes to one of your registered properties. Changes may include:

• amending bank details of a landlord

• amending rent due dates

• amending a landlord’s details

• amending a rent amount

• cancelling rent payments

• submitting a lease renewal

• suspending a rental payment

• restarting a rental payment

• leaving an office

MPs may claim for hospitality costs from their office costs budget.

This can include things like tea and coffee to offer visitors to the constituency office or refreshments at a meeting or event.

It is not intended to cover routine meal costs for the MP, staff members or others.

Subsistence costs can be claimed by MPs and staff members where they are travelling and staying overnight in line with the Scheme rules on using the travel budget.

Read more about Travel & subsistence.

As always, MPs are expected to consider value for money in their spending. IPSA funding cannot be claimed to cover tips or for the purchase of alcoholic beverages.

This webinar outlines the circumstances of when an MP would need a lease and managing the lease process.

Watch the Managing leases webinar.

It also covers Completing a Property Registration Form and Completing a Property Amendment Form, and what to do if the forms are rejected, all using IPSA Online.

This webinar covers Completing a Property Registration Form and Completing a Property Amendment Form, and what to do if the forms are rejected, all using IPSA Online.

Watch the Property registration and amendment webinar.