The State Pension Credit Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003

Housing costs not met

5.—(1) No amount may be met under the provisions of this Schedule –

(a) in respect of housing benefit expenditure, or

(b) where the claimant is in accommodation which is a residential care home or nursing home except where he is in such accommodation during a temporary absence from the dwelling he occupies as his home and in so far as they relate to temporary absences, the provisions of paragraph 4(8) to (12) apply to him during that absence.

(2) Subject to sub-paragraphs (3) to (13), loans which, apart from this paragraph, qualify under paragraph 11 shall not so qualify where the loan was incurred during the relevant period and was incurred –

(a) after 1st October 1995;

(b) after 2nd May 1994 and the housing costs applicable to that loan were not met by virtue of the former paragraph 5A of Schedule 3 to the Income Support Regulations(1) in any one or more of the 26 weeks preceding 2nd October 1995, or

(c) subject to sub-paragraph (3), in the 26 weeks preceding 2nd October 1995 by a person –

(i) who was not at that time entitled to income support, and

(ii) who becomes, or whose partner becomes entitled to income support or an income-based jobseeker’s allowance after 1st October 1995 and that entitlement is within 26 weeks of an earlier entitlement to income support or an income-based jobseeker’s allowance of the claimant or his partner.

(3) Sub-paragraph (2)(c) shall not apply in respect of a loan where the claimant has interest payments on that loan met without restrictions under an award of income support in respect of a period commencing before 2nd October 1995.

(4) The “relevant period” for the purposes of this paragraph is any period during which the person to whom the loan was made –

(a) is entitled to income support, income-based jobseeker’s allowance or state pension credit, or

(b) has a partner and the partner is entitled to income support, income-based jobseeker’s allowance or to state pension credit,

together with any linked period, that is to say a period falling between 2 periods separated by not more than 26 weeks in which one of heads (a) or (b) is satisfied.

(5) For the purposes of sub-paragraph (4), a person shall be treated as entitled to income support or, as the case may be, income-based jobseeker’s allowance or state pension credit, during any period when he or his partner was not so entitled because –

(a) that person or his partner was participating in an employment programme specified in regulation 75(l)(a) of the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations(2), in the Preparation for Employment Programme specified in regulation 75(1)(a)(v) of those Regulations(3) or in the Preparation for Employment Programme for 50 plus, and

(b) in consequence of such participation that person or his partner was engaged in remunerative work or –

(i) in the case of income support, had an income in excess of the claimant’s applicable amount as prescribed in Part IV of the Income Support Regulations, or

(ii) in the case of state pension credit, the claimant’s income exceeded the amount of his state pension credit entitlement.

(6) For the purposes of sub-paragraph (4) –

(a) any week in the period of 26 weeks ending on 1st October 1995 on which there arose an entitlement to income support such as is mentioned in that sub-paragraph shall be taken into account in determining when the relevant period commences, and

(b) 2 or more periods of entitlement and any intervening linked periods shall together form a single relevant period.

(7) Where the loan to which sub-paragraph (2) refers has been applied –

(a) for paying off an earlier loan, and that earlier loan qualified under paragraph 11 during the relevant period, or

(b) to finance the purchase of a property where an earlier loan, which qualified under paragraph 11 or 12 during the relevant period in respect of another property, is paid off (in whole or in part) with monies received from the sale of that property,

then the amount of the loan to which sub-paragraph (2) applies is the amount (if any) by which the new loan exceeds the earlier loan.

(8) Notwithstanding sub-paragraphs (1) to (7), housing costs shall be met in any case where a claimant satisfies any of the conditions specified in sub-paragraphs (9) to (12), but –

(a) those costs shall be subject to any additional limitations imposed by the sub-paragraph, and

(b) where the claimant satisfies the conditions in more than one of these sub-paragraphs, only one sub-paragraph shall apply in his case and the one that applies shall be the one most favourable to him.

(9) The conditions specified in this sub-paragraph are that –

(a) during the relevant period the claimant or his partner acquires an interest (“the relevant interest”) in a dwelling which he then occupies or continues to occupy, as his home, and

(b) in the week preceding the week in which the relevant interest was acquired, housing benefit was payable to the claimant or his partner,

so however that the amount to be met by way of housing costs shall initially not exceed the aggregate of –

(i) the housing benefit payable in the week mentioned at sub-paragraph (9)(b), and

(ii) any additional amount applicable to the claimant or his partner in accordance with regulation 6(6)(c) in that week,

and shall be increased subsequently only to the extent that it is necessary to take account of any increase, arising after the date of the acquisition, in the standard rate or in any housing costs which qualify under paragraph 13 (other housing costs).

(10) The condition specified in this sub-paragraph is that the loan was taken out, or an existing loan increased, to acquire alternative accommodation more suited to the special needs of a disabled person than the accommodation which was occupied before the acquisition by the claimant.

(11) The conditions specified in this sub-paragraph are that –

(a) the loan commitment increased in consequence of the disposal of the dwelling occupied as the home and the acquisition of an alternative such dwelling, and

(b) the change of dwelling was made solely by reason of the need to provide separate sleeping accommodation for persons of different sexes aged 10 or over but under 19 who live with the claimant and are looked after by the claimant or his partner.

(12) The conditions specified in this sub-paragraph are that –

(a) during the relevant period the claimant or his partner acquires an interest (“the relevant interest”) in a dwelling which he then occupies as his home, and

(b) in the week preceding the week in which the relevant interest was acquired, an additional amount was applicable under regulation 6(6)(c) in respect of the claimant or his partner which included an amount determined by reference to paragraph 13 and did not include any amount specified in paragraph 11 or 12,

so however that the amount to be met by way of housing costs shall initially not exceed the amount so determined, and shall be increased subsequently only to the extent that it is necessary to take account of any increase, arising after the date of acquisition, in the standard rate or in any housing costs which qualify under paragraph 13 (other housing costs).

(13) Paragraphs 6 to15 shall have effect subject to the provisions of this paragraph.

(1)

Paragraph 5A was inserted by regulation 2 of S.R. 1994 No.138 and revoked by Schedule 4 to S.R. 1995 No. 301

(2)

Regulation 75 was substituted by regulation 8 of S.R. 1997 No. 541 and paragraph (1)(a) was amended by regulation 4(2) of S.R. 1998 No. 182, regulation 2(4) of S.R. 2000 No. 197 and paragraph 32 of Schedule 2 to S.R. 2000 No. 350

(3)

Head (v) was inserted by regulation 5(a) of S.R. 2001 No. 151