Explanatory note

These Regulations amend the Housing Benefit Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006 and the Housing Benefit (Persons who have attained the qualifying age for state pension credit) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006.

Regulation 2 amends the Housing Benefit Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006:

• regulation 98 is amended so as to set out more clearly from whom an overpayment is recoverable;

• regulation 99 is amended to permit recovery of an overpayment, where the claimant has one or more partners, by deduction from any housing benefit payable to the partner, or where the relevant authority is unable to do so, from the benefits prescribed in regulation 102, provided that the claimant and his partner were a couple both at the time of the overpayment and when the deduction is made; and

• regulation 102 is amended to insert the prescribed benefits from which recovery may be sought from the claimant’s partner.

Regulation 3 makes equivalent amendments to the Housing Benefit (Persons who have attained the qualifying age for state pension credit) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006 and also omits regulation 62(13) which is no longer needed.

Regulation 4 makes a consequential revocation.