The Rate Relief Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2017

Person unable to act

4.—(1) Where a person is unable for the time being to act, and—

(a) a controller has been appointed by the High Court under Part 8 of the Mental Health (Northern Ireland) Order 1986(1) with power to claim, or as the case may be, receive social security benefits on his behalf; or

(b) an attorney with a general power or a power to claim or, as the case may be, receive social security benefits, has been appointed by that person under the Powers of Attorney Act (Northern Ireland) 1971(2) or the Enduring Powers of Attorney (Northern Ireland) Order 1987(3),

that controller or attorney, as the case may be, may make a claim for rate relief on behalf of that person.

(2) Where paragraph (1) does not apply and a person who is liable for rates is for the time being unable to act and the Department for Communities has appointed a person to act on his behalf for the purposes of regulation 52(1) of the Universal Credit, Personal Independence Payment, Jobseeker’s Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance (Claims and Payments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016(4) the relevant authority may, if that person agrees, treat him as if he had been appointed by them under paragraph (3).

(3) Subject to paragraph (4), the relevant authority may upon receipt of a written application made by a person appoint that person (“the appointee”) to act on behalf of the claimant and to exercise on behalf of the claimant any right to which the claimant might be entitled under these regulations and to receive and deal with any rate rebate sums payable to the claimant.

(4) Paragraph (3) is subject to the condition that a person applying to be appointed as an appointee must be aged 18 years or over.

(5) Subject to paragraph (6), an appointment under paragraphs (2) or (3) comes to an end if—

(a) the relevant authority at any time revokes it by notice in writing;

(b) the appointee resigns their appointment by giving four weeks’ notice in writing to the relevant authority of an intention to resign; or

(c) the relevant authority is notified that a controller or an attorney has been appointed.

(6) Anything required by these regulations to be done by or to a claimant who is for the time being unable to act may be done by or to a controller, an attorney, an appointee or any person treated as the appointee under this regulation and the receipt of any such person so appointed shall be a good discharge to the relevant authority for any sum paid.

(1)

S.I. 1986/595 (N.I.4).

(2)

1971 c.33 (N.I.).

(3)

S.I. 1987/1627 (N.I. 16).

(4)

S.R. 2016 No.220.