Statutory Rules of Northern Ireland
Housing
Made
28th September 2009
Coming into operation
12th October 2009
The Department for Social Development makes the following Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 122(1)(d), 129A(2) and 171(1) and (3) to (5) of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992(1) and now vested in it(2).
The Social Security Advisory Committee has agreed that proposals in respect of these Regulations should not be referred to it(3).
1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Housing Benefit (Executive Determinations) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2009 and shall come into operation on 12th October 2009.
(2) The Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954(4) shall apply to these Regulations as it applies to an Act of the Assembly.
2. In the Schedule to the Housing Benefit (Executive Determinations) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2008(5) (broad rental market area determinations and local housing allowance determinations) after paragraph 2(5) (local housing allowance for category of dwelling in paragraph 1) insert—
“(5A) Where the Executive is not satisfied that the list of rents in respect of any category of dwelling would contain sufficient rents, payable at the date of the determination for dwellings in the broad rental market area, to enable a local housing allowance to be determined which is representative of the rents that a landlord might reasonably be expected to obtain in that area, the Executive may add to the list rents for dwellings in the same category in other areas in which a comparable market exists.”.
Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department for Social Development on 28th September 2009
(L.S.)
Anne McCleary
A senior officer of the Department for Social Development
(This note is not part of the Regulations)
These Regulations amend the Housing Benefit (Executive Determinations) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2008.
Regulation 2 inserts a new sub-paragraph (5A) into paragraph 2 of the Schedule. Paragraph 2 sets out how the Northern Ireland Housing Executive (“the Executive”) should determine a local housing allowance for each category of dwelling identified in paragraph 1. This process involves drawing up a list of rents, payable at the date of the determination, for dwellings within a broad rental market area. The new sub-paragraph will allow the Executive, where it is not satisfied that the list of rents for a particular category would contain sufficient rents to enable a representative local housing allowance to be determined, to add to the list rents for dwellings in the same category located in other areas in which a comparable market exists.
1992 c. 7; section 129A was inserted by section 30(2) of the Welfare Reform Act (Northern Ireland) 2007 (c. 2 (N.I.)) and section 171(1) was amended by paragraph 5 of Schedule 4 to the Tax Credits Act 2002 (c. 21)
See Article 8(b) of S.R. 1999 No. 481
See section 150(1)(b) of the Social Security Administration (Northern Ireland) Act 1992 (c. 8)
S.R. 2008 No. 100; amended by S.R. 2008 No. 506