The Housing Benefit, Supply of Information and Council Tax Benefit (Amendment) Regulations 1996

Insertion of Schedule 5A into the Housing Benefit Regulations

6.  After Schedule 5 there shall be inserted a new Schedule 5A—

Regulations 62A & 69(8)

“SCHEDULE 5A EXTENDED PAYMENTS OF HOUSING BENEFIT

PART I

Conditions for an extended payment

1.   The conditions referred to in regulation 62A(1)(c) are those prescribed in paragraphs 2 and 3.

2.   The conditions prescribed in this paragraph are that the Secretary of State has certified to the appropriate authority—

(a) that the claimant was entitled to and in receipt of income support and that entitlement has ceased;

(b) the relevant day in his case;

(c) that before his entitlement to income support ceased—

(i) the claimant was available for and actively seeking employment; or

(ii) the amount applicable to the claimant in income support included an amount by way of a premium pursuant to paragraph 8 (lone parent premium) or, in a case where the claimant was the carer or one of the carers, paragraph 14ZA (carer premium) of Schedule 2 (applicable amounts) to the Income Support (General) Regulations 1987(1); or

(iii) the claimant was a relevant trainee;

(d) that entitlement to income support had ceased by reason of the claimant or his partner—

(i) commencing employment as an employed or self employed earner; or

(ii) increasing their earnings from such employment; or

(iii) increasing the number of hours worked in such employment; and

(e) that the claimant had been entitled to and in receipt of income support for a continuous period of at least 26 weeks until the relevant day in any of, or any combination of, the circumstances set out at sub-paragraph (c) and for the purpose of this sub-paragraph entitlement to and receipt of unemployment benefit shall be taken to be entitlement to and receipt of income support.

3.— (1) The conditions prescribed in this paragraph are that the claimant certifies the matters specified in sub-paragraph (2) and meets the requirements specified in sub-paragraph (3).

(2) The matters that the claimant has to certify are—

(a) that—

(i) except in a case to which the next sub-head applies, the liability to pay in respect of the dwelling which he occupies as his home will be continuing for a period of not less than 4 weeks after the last day; or

(ii) he has moved or is about to move to another dwelling (“the new dwelling”) which he is or will be occupying as his home, and the liability to make payments of rent in respect of the new dwelling, follows on immediately from the liability to make payments in respect of his previous dwelling and the liability to make such payments is for a period of not less than 4 weeks commencing on the day following the last day;

(b) in a case where sub-head (a)(ii) above applies, the address of that second dwelling and the date upon which he expects to or did go into occupation of it; and

(c) that he or his partner has or is about to—

(i) commence remunerative work; or

(ii) commence or increase the amount of work or the rate of remuneration for work,

so that he ceases to be entitled to income support, and that work or, as the case may be, increase is expected to last for 5 weeks or more.

(3) The specified requirements are that—

(a) the claimant is less than 60 years of age on the day following the relevant day;

(b) the claimant makes the claim referred to in regulation 62A(1)(b) at either the appropriate DSS office or the designated office of an appropriate authority within 8 days of the relevant day; and

(c) it was the cessation of the entitlement certified under paragraph 2(a) or the occurrence of the condition specified in regulation 62A(3) that led to the termination of the relevant benefit period.

PART II

Calculation and payment of an extended payment

4.— (1) Subject to the following provisions of this paragraph and except in the case of a mover, the amount of the extended payment shall be equal to the amount of housing benefit which was payable to the claimant for the last benefit week before the termination of the relevant benefit period.

(2) In a case where the last benefit week referred to in sub-paragraph (1) fell, in whole or in part, within a rent free period, the last benefit week for the purposes of that sub-paragraph shall be taken to be the last benefit week in the relevant benefit period that did not fall within a rent free period.

(3) Where the last benefit week before the termination of the relevant benefit period was a week in which the claimant’s eligible rent was calculated in accordance with regulation 69(5)(c) (claimant ceases to occupy the dwelling as his home), paragraph (1) shall have effect as if the reference to the last benefit week before the termination of the relevant benefit period was a reference to the week before that week.

(4) The extended payment shall be payable for each of the 4 weeks following the last day, and shall be paid at such time and in such manner as is appropriate, having regard to —

(a) the times at which and the frequency with which a person’s liability to make payment of rent arises; and

(b) the reasonable needs and convenience of the person entitled thereto.

Movers

5.   Paragraphs 6 to 8 below apply to movers from—

(a) the day the move takes place where that day is a Monday; or

(b) from the Monday following the day the move takes place where that day is not a Monday.

Movers and rent allowances

6.— (1) Subject to sub-paragraph (2), in the case of a mover whose housing benefit was in the form of a rent allowance, the authority which, prior to the ending of the relevant benefit period, was paying that allowance, shall make an extended payment to that mover calculated on the same basis as in paragraph 4 and, for these purposes, the mover shall be treated as continuing to occupy and be liable to make payments in respect of the dwelling he was occupying as his home immediately before the termination of the relevant benefit period.

(2) Notwithstanding sub-paragraph (1), in a case where that mover’s liability to make payments in respect of the second dwelling would be to a housing authority, any extended payment shall be made by that housing authority and shall be determined as provided in paragraph 8(b).

Movers and rent rebates

7.   Where, in a case of a mover—

(a) his housing benefit was in the form of a rent rebate; and

(b) he claims an extended payment,

the authority in which the second dwelling is situated or, as the case may be, where the mover’s liability to make payments in respect of the second dwelling is to a housing authority, that housing authority, shall upon receiving the mover’s claim for an extended payment, which meets the requirements of regulation 62A(1), make an extended payment, calculated in accordance with paragraph 8, to that mover.

Movers and extended payments

8.   In a case to which paragraph 6(2) or 7 applies and a mover’s liability referred to in that paragraph is—

(a) other than to a housing authority, the extended payment shall be a payment by way of rent allowance calculated in accordance with paragraph 4;

(b) to a housing authority, the extended payment shall be by way of a rent rebate to the value of such part of 4 weeks rent as is eligible for housing benefit, calculated in accordance with regulations 8 to 11, less, in a case where the rebate to which paragraph 7 refers, or the rent allowance to which paragraph 6 refers, as the case may be, was subject to any deductions in respect of non-dependants pursuant to regulations 61(1) and 63, the amount of those deductions.

Maximum Housing Benefit

9.   In a case to which sub-paragraph 8(b) applies the maximum housing benefit of a mover shall be calculated in accordance with regulation 61(1), save that no deduction shall be made in respect of non-dependants, other than any that fall to be taken into account pursuant to that sub-paragraph.

Movers with two homes

10.   Subject to Part III of this Schedule, any extended payment under this Part shall be without prejudice to any entitlement the claimant may have pursuant to regulation 5(5) (liability to make payments in respect of two homes)(2).

PART III

Adjustment of entitlement in respect of an extended payment

11.   Where for any week—

(a) a person is entitled to an extended payment, and

(b) he also claims and is awarded housing benefit,

then the amount of the housing benefit payable in respect of that week shall be reduced by a sum equal to the amount of the extended payment and only the balance (if any) shall be payable to him for that week.

PART IV

Interpretation

12.   In this Schedule, except where the context otherwise requires—

“claimant” means a person claiming an extended payment;

“relevant trainee” means a person who is receiving both training and an allowance under arrangements made pursuant to section 2 of the Employment and Training Act 1973(3) or section 2 of the Enterprise and New Towns (Scotland) Act 1990(4);

“the last day” means the last day of the relevant benefit period;

“mover” means a claimant who changes the dwelling which he occupies as his home in respect of which he is liable or treated as liable to make payments;

“the relevant benefit period” means the benefit period referred to in regulation 62A(1)(a);

“the relevant day” means the day on which the claimant’s entitlement to income support ceased; and

“second dwelling” means the dwelling to which a mover has certified he will be or is occupying pursuant to paragraph 3(2)(a)(ii).”.

(1)

S.I. 1987/1967; paragraph 14ZA was inserted by S.I. 1990/1776 and amended by 1991/1559 and 2742.

(2)

Regulation 5(5) was amended by S.I. 1990/1549 and 1993/317.

(3)

1973 c. 50; section 2 was amended by the Employment Act 1988 (c. 19), section 25(1), the Employment Act 1989

(4)

1990 c. 35; section 2 was amended by the Trade Union Reform and Employment Rights Act 1993 (c. 19), section 47(2).