MPs' expenses: the rules
Updated on 29 May 2010
The rules which govern what MPs can and cannot claim in parliamentary expenses are set out in the Green Book. Channel 4 News has a read.
Section 2.1 in the latest edition of the Green Book, from July 2009, covers accommodation claims.
It covers "personal additional accommodation expenditure", and its purpose according to the Green Book is: "to reimburse members for the additional expenses necessarily incurred in staying overnight away from their main home for the purpose of performing their parliamentary duties."
MPs are allowed to claim for rent they pay, and are allowed to claim for London properties if their main home is in their constituency, or for their contituency home if their main home is in London.
The amount allowed for rent is £1,250 monthly.
The rules state that the allowance must not be used if the room is rented from the MP themselves; a partner or family member (including a spouse or civil partner); a close business associate; or an organisation or company in which you or a family member have an interest (other than as an ordinary investor).
