# The Housing Benefit (Transitional) Regulations 1987, Note: Explanatory note


(This note is not part of the Regulations)
These Regulations make transitional provision in connection with the statutory scheme (the “new scheme”) for the granting of rate rebates, rent rebates and rent allowances introduced by the Social Security Act 1986 (“the 1986 Act”) and the Housing Benefit (General) Regulations 1987. This scheme is to be administered by local, rating and housing authorities (“authorities”).
Applications for a rebate or an allowance under legislation repealed by the 1986 Act (“an old scheme”) may, and in some cases shall, be treated as claims under the new scheme (regulation 2). Under regulation 2(1) provision is also made for the determination of claims up to 13 weeks before the start of the new scheme. Regulation 3 relates to persons already receiving a rebate or an allowance under an old scheme: they will not generally be required initially to make a claim under the new scheme, though authorities may require them to do so.
Regulation 4 contains provisions for the calculation of benefit which take account of the introduction of income support in place of supplementary benefit. Regulation 5 enables authorities to extend the periods by reference to which benefit is paid where those periods either end on or after 1st March 1988 or would otherwise have expired because of the introduction of the new scheme.
During the period of 4 weeks before and 4 weeks after the introduction of the new scheme, benefit under that scheme may be paid together with a rebate or allowance under an old scheme (regulation 6). Where an authority makes any determination in advance of the introduction of the new scheme, the time for requiring a review of that determination will start to run only from the introduction of that scheme (regulation 7).
Provision is made to continue the issue and cancellation of certificates conferring eligibility to housing benefit under an old scheme (regulation 8), to continue arrangements to pay benefit to third parties (regulation 9) and to continue any discretionary disregard in local schemes for war pensions (regulation 10).
Under old schemes authorities may recover overpayments of a rebate or an allowance by means of deduction from future rebates or allowances. Regulation 11 enables these overpayments to continue to be recovered by means of deduction from rebates or allowances under the new scheme.
Regulation 12 contains consequential provisions relating to supplementary benefit. It provides for the date at which entitlement to housing benefit supplement payable under the Supplementary Benefits Act 1976 will cease and for the termination of arrangements under which supplementary benefit is paid by local authorities to meet water charges.
These Regulations contain only provisions consequential on sections 20, 21, 22, 28, 29 and 51 of the Social Security Act 1986 and the Housing Benefit (General) Regulations 1987 and are made before the expiry of 12 months from the commencement of those provisions: they are accordingly exempt, by section 61(5) of the Social Security Act 1986, from reference to the Social Security Advisory Committee and have not been so referred.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1987/1972/note (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/housing-benefit-transitional-regulations-1987/note
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.