# The Housing Benefit (Miscellaneous Amendments No. 4) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005 S.R. 2005/493 · made 8 November 2005 · revised to 20 November 2006 These Regulations further amend the Housing Benefit (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987 (“the Housing Benefit Regulations”) as so and as not so modified by the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003 as set out in regulation 2(2) and the Housing Benefit (Decisions and Appeals) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001 (“the Decisions and Appeals Regulations”). Made under: Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992 (Section 129, Section 131, Section 132, Section 132A, Section 133, Section 171); Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Act (Northern Ireland) 2000 (Section 5, Section 5A, Section 165, Article 74, Schedule 7 paragraph 1, Schedule 7 paragraph 13, Schedule 7 paragraph 14, Schedule 7 paragraph 15, Schedule 7 paragraph 20, Schedule 7 paragraph 23) PDFs: Printed copy https://openlegislation.uk/housing-benefit-miscellaneous-amendments-no-4-regulations-northern-ireland-2005/pdf/nisr_20050493_en.pdf ## Introductory text HOUSING; RATES Made 8th November 2005 Coming into operation 10th November 2005 The Department for Social Development, in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 129(2), 131(5) and (6), 132(4)(a) and (b), 132A(3), 133(2)(c) and (d) and 171(1), (3) and (4) of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992, sections 5(1)(a), (b), (hh), (j) and (l), 5A(1) and (2)(b) and 165(1) and (4) of the Social Security Administration (Northern Ireland) Act 1992, Article 74(1) and (7) of the Social Security (Northern Ireland) Order 1998 and paragraphs 1, 13, 14, 15, 20 and 23 of Schedule 7 to the Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Act (Northern Ireland) 2000, and now vested in it, and of all other powers enabling it in that behalf, with the consent of the Department of Finance and Personnel, and after agreement by the Social Security Advisory Committee that proposals in respect of these Regulations should not be referred to it, hereby makes the following Regulations: ## 1 Citation, commencement and interpretation (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Housing Benefit (Miscellaneous Amendments No. 4) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005 and shall come into operation on 10th November 2005. (2) In these Regulations— ... “the Decisions and Appeals Regulations” means the Housing Benefit (Decisions and Appeals) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001. (3) The Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954 shall apply to these Regulations as it applies to an Act of the Assembly. ## 2 Amendment of the Housing Benefit Regulations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ## 3 Amendment of the Decisions and Appeals Regulations In regulation 14(2) of the Decisions and Appeals Regulations (termination in cases of a failure to furnish information) for sub-paragraph (a) there shall be substituted the following sub-paragraph— “(a) subject to sub-paragraph (b) before the end of the period under regulation 13(4) for the provision of information.”. ## Signature Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department for Social Development on 8th November 2005. L.S. John O'Neill A senior officer of the Department for Social Development The Department of Finance and Personnel hereby consents to the foregoing Regulations Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department of Finance and Personnel on 9th November 2005. L.S. Jack Layberry A senior officer of the Department of Finance and Personnel ## Explanatory note (This note is not part of the Regulations.) These Regulations further amend the Housing Benefit (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987 (“the Housing Benefit Regulations”) as so and as not so modified by the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003 as set out in regulation 2(2) and the Housing Benefit (Decisions and Appeals) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001 (“the Decisions and Appeals Regulations”). Regulation 2(3) expands the definition of “appropriate office” to include an office dealing with state pension credit. Regulation 2(4) and (5) provides that a person is considered to be disabled for the purpose of determining child care charge deductions if they cease to be registered as blind within the period that begins 28 weeks before the first Monday in September following their fifteenth birthday and ends on the day preceding the first Monday in September following the person’s sixteenth birthday. Regulation 2(6), (7), (8), (10) and (11) provides that the tax rates to be used to determine the amount of tax and contributions that should be deducted to find the net amount of profit or earnings shall be the rate applicable to the assessment period. Regulation 2(9), (12) and (13) substitutes the term “revision and supersession” for the term “review”, which reflects updated terminology. Regulation 2(14) makes amendments consequential to the amendments made by regulation 2(20). Regulation 2(15) revokes rules linking a claim for housing benefit to certain social security benefits. It also introduces two new rules for determining the date of claim. The first relates to bereaved or separated persons and the second provides that the date of claim is the date a claimant notifies his intention of making a claim provided he makes that claim within one month of being issued with a claim form. It also aligns the time scales for providing information and backdating claims in the Housing Benefit Regulations with those used in other benefits and in the Decisions and Appeals Regulations. Regulation 2(16) and (17) align the time scales for providing information and backdating claims in the Housing Benefit Regulations with those used in other benefits and in the Decisions and Appeals Regulations. Regulation 2(18) provides for the Northern Ireland Housing Executive to send an instrument for the first payment of a rent allowance to the claimant, made payable to the landlord, where it has superseded an earlier decision on the claim due to a change in the claimant’s address. Regulation 2(19) includes lone parents in the list of those who have attained the qualifying age for state pension credit and who may be treated as severely disabled in the stipulated circumstances. Regulation 2(20) extends the number of payments that should be fully disregarded in the calculation of income other than earnings and paragraph (20)(b) makes amendments consequential to that change. Regulation 3 amends the Decisions and Appeals Regulations to shorten the time before a relevant authority can terminate an award of housing benefit following the suspension of its payment. These Regulations do not impose any charge on business. --- Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/nisr/2005/493 (the official version) Page: https://openlegislation.uk/housing-benefit-miscellaneous-amendments-no-4-regulations-northern-ireland-2005 Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.