The Rate Relief (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2007

PART 10 Claims

Modification of Part X and Schedule 11

26.—(1) Part X of the Housing Benefit Regulations(1) (claims) shall apply for the purposes of these Regulations as it applies for the purposes of the Housing Benefit Regulations with the following modifications—

(a) as if for “housing benefit”, wherever it occurs, there were substituted “rate relief”;

(b) as if for “benefit week”, wherever it occurs, there were substituted “rate relief week”;

(c) as if for “dwelling”, wherever it occurs, there were substituted “hereditament”;

(d) as if in regulation 81(10) for “award benefit” there were substituted “award rate relief”;

(e) as if in regulation 81A after “Schedule 11” there were inserted “to the Housing Benefit Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 26”;

(f) as if in regulation 82—

(i) in paragraph (1) after “Schedule A1 (treatment of claims for housing benefit by refugees)” there were inserted “to the Housing Benefit Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 11”;

(ii) in paragraph (4)(a)(i) and (b) after “Schedule 7” there were inserted “to the Housing Benefit Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 19”;

(iii) in paragraph (4)(c) after “or (c)” there were inserted “of the Housing Benefit Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 22”;

(g) as if—

(i) in regulation 83(1) after “81(4A)”;

(ii) in regulation 84(1)(a) after “81”;

(iii) in regulation 84A after “regulation 84”;

there were inserted “of the Housing Benefit Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 26”;

(h) as if in regulation 84—

(i) in paragraph (2)(a) “rent and” were omitted;

(ii) in paragraph (2)(b) for “Department of Finance and Personnel” there were substituted “the Department”;

(i) as if in regulation 84A after “Schedule 11” there were inserted “to the Housing Benefit Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 26”.

(2) Schedule 11 to the Housing Benefit Regulations(2) (electronic communication) shall apply for the purposes of these Regulations as it applies for the purposes of the Housing Benefit Regulations with the following modification as if in paragraph 2(1) for “housing benefit” there were substituted “rate relief”.

Making a claim for rate relief

27.  Subject to regulation 26(2), every claim for rate relief shall be made in writing on a form approved by the Department for the purpose of rate relief, or in such other manner, being in writing, as the Department may accept as sufficient in the circumstances of any particular case.

Claims in advance for rate relief

28.  Where a claim is received by a relevant authority prior to 1st April 2007 it shall be treated as having been made on 1st April 2007.

Entitlement dependent on claim

29.  Entitlement to a payment of rate relief shall be dependent upon a claim for rate relief being made in accordance with the provisions of these Regulations.

(1)

Regulations 81, 83 and 84 were amended by regulation 2 of S.R. 2006 No. 462 and regulations 81A and 84A were inserted by regulation 2 of S.R. 2006 No. 463

(2)

Schedule 11 was inserted by Article 2(5) of S.R. 2006 No. 463