The Housing Benefit (Abolition of Benefit Periods Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2004

62A

1

Subject to paragraphs (7) and (8) paragraph (2) shall apply where –

a

a person ceases to be entitled to housing benefit –

i

in accordance with regulation 65A(1) (date on which housing benefit is to end), and

ii

the conditions referred to in paragraphs 2 and 3 of Schedule 5A (extended payments of Housing Benefit) are satisfied in his case, or

b

a person ceases to be entitled to housing benefit because he has vacated the dwelling which he occupied as his home and the day on which he did so was either in the week in which he took up employment as an employed or self-employed earner, or in the preceding week, and –

i

he ceased to be entitled to income support or an income-based jobseeker’s allowance by reason of taking up employment as an employed or self-employed earner, and

ii

the conditions referred to in paragraphs 2 and 3 of Schedule 5A are satisfied in his case.

2

A person to whom paragraph (1) applies shall be treated as having made a claim under this regulation and his housing benefit shall be determined in accordance with Part II of Schedule 5A and any award so determined shall be referred to in these Regulations as an “extended payment”.

3

For the purposes of any payment pursuant to this regulation –

a

except in a case to which paragraph 8(b) of Schedule 5A applies, the maximum housing benefit of any person mentioned in paragraph (1) shall be that which was applicable to him in the last benefit week of the award of housing benefit which has ceased as mentioned in paragraph (1);

b

the maximum housing benefit of any person to whom paragraph 8(b) of Schedule 5A applies shall be determined in accordance with paragraph 9 of that Schedule, and

c

any person who meets the requirements of paragraph (1) shall be treated as possessing no income or capital.

4

Regulations 71, 72 and 73 (claims, evidence and information) shall not apply to a claim pursuant to this regulation and, subject to regulation 69(9), Part IX (calculation of weekly amounts and changes of circumstances) shall not apply to any payment under it.

5

In paragraph (1)(a) and (b), references to a “person” include references to a person’s partner.

6

Subject to paragraph (8), in a case where a payment has been made under this regulation –

a

the beneficiary shall be treated for the purposes of these Regulations and of the Housing Benefit (General) (Amendment No. 2) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 199616 as though he were entitled to and in receipt of housing benefit –

i

during the 4 weeks immediately following the last day of his entitlement to housing benefit, or

ii

until the date on which his liability for rent or rates or both ends,

whichever occurs first, and

b

any claim for housing benefit made by the beneficiary within the period which under sub-paragraph (a) applies in his case or the 4 weeks thereafter shall be treated as having been made in respect of a period beginning immediately after the end of his previous award of housing benefit.

7

This regulation shall not apply to a claimant where, on the day before his entitlement to income support ceased, regulation 6(5) of the Income Support (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 198717 (persons not treated as engaged in remunerative work) applied to him.

8

Until 25th October 2004 this regulation shall have effect subject to the following provisions of this paragraph –

a

the following shall be inserted after sub-paragraph (b) of paragraph (1) –

, or

c

a person ceases to be entitled to housing benefit –

i

in accordance with regulation 65A(2) (date on which housing benefit is to end) and the condition referred to in paragraph 3A of Schedule 5A is satisfied in his case, or

ii

because he has vacated the dwelling which he occupied as his home and the day on which he did so was either in the week in which he took up employment as an employed or self-employed earner or in the preceding week or during the period specified in regulation 6(3) of the Income Support (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987, and

aa

he is a person to whom regulation 6(2) of those Regulations applies;

bb

he has ceased to be entitled to income support or an income-based jobseeker’s allowance by reason of taking up employment as an employed or self-employed earner, and

cc

the condition referred to in paragraph 3A of Schedule 5A is satisfied in his case.

b

in paragraph (6), for “paragraph (8),” there shall be substituted “paragraphs (8) and (9)”, and

c

after paragraph (8) there shall be inserted the following paragraph –

9

Where the beneficiary is a person to whom regulation 6(2) of the Income Support (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987 applies (persons not treated as engaged in remunerative work) and a payment is under this regulation, he shall be treated for the purposes of these Regulations and of the Housing Benefit (General) (Amendment No. 2) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996 as though he were entitled to and in receipt of housing benefit –

a

during the period beginning on the day immediately following the last day of his entitlement to housing benefit and ending on the last day of the benefit week which includes the day –

i

which is 4 weeks after the day on which that person was first engaged in the work referred to in regulation 6(2)(a) of those Regulations, or

ii

on which that person’s liability for rent or rates or both ends,

whichever occurs first, and

b

any claim for housing benefit made by the beneficiary within the period which under sub-paragraph (a) applies in his case or the 4 weeks thereafter shall be treated as having been made in respect of a period beginning immediately after the end of his previous award of housing benefit.

Date on which housing benefit is to end65A

1

Subject to paragraphs (2) and (3), a claimant’s entitlement to housing benefit shall cease at the end of the benefit week in which entitlement to income support or income-based jobseeker’s allowance ceases where –

a

the claimant or his partner was entitled to and in receipt of income support or an income-based jobseeker’s allowance or that claimant and his partner were entitled to and in receipt of a joint-claim jobseeker’s allowance and that entitlement has ceased;

b

the entitlement to income support or income-based jobseeker’s allowance has ceased by reason of the claimant or his partner –

i

commencing employment as an employed or self-employed earner;

ii

increasing their earnings from such employment, or

iii

increasing the number of hours worked in such employment;

c

the claimant had been entitled to and in receipt of income support or income-based jobseeker’s allowance for a continuous period of at least 26 weeks before the day on which his entitlement to income support or income-based jobseeker’s allowance ceased, and for the purposes of this sub-paragraph –

i

a claimant satisfies the conditions of this sub-paragraph if he has been entitled to and in receipt of a combination of income support and a jobseeker’s allowance for at least 26 weeks;

ii

references to the claimant include references to his partner;

iii

a reference to the claimant being entitled to and in receipt of a jobseeker’s allowance shall include a reference to the claimant and his partner being entitled to and in receipt of a joint-claim jobseeker’s allowance, and

d

that work, increased earnings or, as the case may be, increased hours is expected to last at least 5 weeks or more.

2

In the case of a claimant to whom regulation 6(2) of the Income Support (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987 applies (persons not treated as engaged in remunerative work), entitlement to housing benefit shall cease where –

a

the claimant was entitled to and in receipt of income support or an income-based jobseeker’s allowance and that entitlement ceases;

b

the entitlement to income support or income-based jobseeker’s allowance ceases by reason of the claimant commencing employment as an employed or self-employed earner, and

c

that work is expected to last 5 weeks or more,

and that entitlement shall cease at the end of the benefit week in which entitlement to income support or income-based jobseeker’s allowance ceases.

3

Paragraph (2) shall be omitted with effect from 25th October 2004.

3

For the purposes of sub-paragraph (2), “award of housing benefit” means –

a

the award in which the relevant sum is first received (or the first part thereof where it is paid in more than one instalment), and

b

where that award is followed by one or more further awards which, or each of which, begins immediately after the end of the previous award, such further award provided that for that further award the claimant –

i

is the person who received the relevant sum, or

ii

is the partner of the person who received the relevant sum, or was that person’s partner at the date of his death.