The Housing Benefit (Miscellaneous Amendments No. 2) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2004

Amendment of the Housing Benefit Regulations

2.—(1) The Housing Benefit Regulations shall be amended in accordance with paragraphs (2) to (6).

(2) In regulation 2(1) (interpretation), after the definition of “Preparation for Employment Programme for 50 plus(1)” there shall be inserted the following definition –

““the qualifying age for state pension credit” means (in accordance with section 1(2)(b) and (6) of the State Pension Credit Act (Northern Ireland) 2002(2)) –

(a)

in the case of a woman, pensionable age, or

(b)

in the case of a man, the age which is pensionable age in the case of a woman born on the same day as the man;”.

(3) In regulation 5 (circumstances in which a person is or is not to be treated as occupying a dwelling as his home), after paragraph (5) there shall be inserted the following paragraph –

“(5A) Where –

(a) a person has moved into a dwelling for which he is not liable to make payments (“the new dwelling”);

(b) immediately before that move, he was liable to make payments for the dwelling he previously occupied as his home (“the former dwelling”), and

(c) that liability continues after he has moved in to the new dwelling,

he shall be treated as occupying the former dwelling as his home for a period not exceeding 4 benefit weeks if he could not reasonably have avoided liability in respect of that former dwelling.”.

(4) In regulation 65 (date on which entitlement is to commence) –

(a) in paragraph (1)(3), for “and (3)” there shall be substituted “to (5)”, and

(b) after paragraph (3), there shall be added –

“(4) Subject to paragraph (5), where regulation 72B (time for claiming housing benefit) applies, a person who makes a claim for, and is otherwise entitled to, housing benefit shall be entitled to that benefit from the benefit week following the first day in respect of which that claim is made.

(5) Where regulation 72B applies, a claimant who is otherwise entitled to housing benefit and becomes liable, for the first time, to make payments in respect of the dwelling which he occupies as his home in the benefit week in which the first day in respect of which his claim was made falls, shall be so entitled from that benefit week.”.

(5) In regulation 69 (calculation of weekly amounts), in paragraphs (4)(a) and (5)(a) after “regulation 65(2)” in both places where it appears, there shall be inserted “or (5)”.

(6) After regulation 72A (date of claim where claim sent or delivered to an office of the Department, the Department for Employment and Learning or a person providing services to either of those Departments)(4), there shall be added –

“Time for claiming housing benefit

72B.— (1) This regulation applies to persons to whom regulation 2 (housing benefit regulations) of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003(5) applies.

(2) Where this regulation applies, the prescribed time for claiming housing benefit is as regards any day on which, apart from satisfying the condition of making a claim, the claimant is entitled to housing benefit, that day and the period of 12 months immediately following it.”.

(1)

Definition inserted by regulation 13(2)(a) of S.R. 2001 No. 151

(2)

2002 c. 14 (N.I.)

(3)

Paragraph (1) was amended by regulation 4(3)(a) of S.R. 1990 No. 137 and regulation 14 of S.R. 2004 No. 144

(4)

Regulation 72A was inserted by regulation 7 of S.R. 2001 No. 175

(5)

S.R. 2003 No. 197