The Welfare Reform (Northern Ireland) Order 2015 (Commencement No. 13 and Savings and Transitional Provisions and Commencement No. 8 and Transitional and Transitory Provisions (Amendment)) Order 2019

Transitional provision: [F1 application [F2 to housing benefit] of the rules in universal credit for treatment of couples and] polygamous marriages N.I.

[F3 7.— (1) Paragraph (3) applies where a person (“P”), who has attained the qualifying age, would otherwise not be entitled to either housing benefit or universal credit, because—

(a) but for that paragraph, P would be a member of the same household as a partner who has not attained the qualifying age and therefore a member of a mixed-age couple, who—

(i) is prevented from claiming housing benefit under [F4 regulation 4A of the Universal Credit (Transitional Provisions) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016] ; or

(ii) has an award of housing benefit terminated under Article 6; and

(b) P is neither entitled to universal credit jointly with that partner, nor entitled to universal credit as a single person, in one of the cases set out in paragraph (2).

(2) The cases are where P is not entitled to universal credit because P has attained the qualifying age and—

(a) any of the following paragraphs of regulation 3 of the Universal Credit Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016 applies, and in the case of paragraph (ii) below, one of the following circumstances applies—

(i) paragraph (2) (treatment of certain couples – universal credit may only be claimed as a single person);

(ii) paragraph (3) (treatment of polygamous marriages), so that P is not entitled to universal credit because P may only claim universal credit either as one of two parties to a polygamous marriage to be treated as a couple and the other party has also attained the qualifying age, or as a remaining party to such a marriage to be treated as single;

(iii) paragraph (5) (absence from the household – universal credit may only be claimed as a single person); or

(b) P lost joint entitlement to universal credit as part of a mixed-age couple due to one of the following changes of circumstances taking effect from a date (namely the first day of the universal credit assessment period in which the change occurred) that is earlier than when, but for paragraph (3), the same change would take effect for the purposes of housing benefit, those changes being where—

(i) P and their partner are no longer a couple;

(ii) P is party to a marriage that is no longer a polygamous marriage and P’s remaining spouse has attained the qualifying age.

(3) Where this paragraph applies—

(a) P and their partner who are to be treated as a non-polygamous couple in accordance with paragraph (2)(a)(ii), or who are no longer parties to a polygamous marriage in accordance with paragraph (2)(b)(ii), are to be treated as members of the same household as each other but not of that of any party (or parties) with whom they are not part of a couple in accordance with those provisions and one of them may claim or remain entitled to housing benefit as part of that couple; or

(b) P who is to be treated as single in accordance with paragraph (2)(a)(i) to (iii), or is single in accordance with paragraph (2)(b)(i), is to be treated as though P is not a member of the same household as any party (or parties) with whom P is not part of a couple in accordance with those provisions and may claim or remain entitled to housing benefit as a single person,

where paragraph (2)(a) applies, with effect from the date on which the relevant paragraph of regulation 3 of the Universal Credit Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016 first applies to C, or, where paragraph (2)(b) applies, with effect from the date referred to in paragraph (2)(b) on which C lost universal credit entitlement.]

Textual Amendments

F1 Words in art. 7 heading inserted (15.5.2019) by The Welfare Reform (Northern Ireland) Order 2015 (Commencement No. 13 and Savings and Transitional Provisions (Amendment)) Order 2019 (S.R. 2019/107), art. 2(3)(a)

F2 Words in art. 7 heading inserted (25.11.2020) by The Universal Credit (Persons who have attained state pension credit qualifying age) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2020 (S.R. 2020/119), regs. 1(2), 7(3)(a)

F3 Art. 7(1)-(3) substituted (25.11.2020) by The Universal Credit (Persons who have attained state pension credit qualifying age) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2020 (S.R. 2020/119), regs. 1(2), 7(3)(b) (as amended by The Social Security (Coronavirus) (Further Measures) (Amendment) and Miscellaneous Amendment Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2020 (S.R. 2020/242), regs. 1(2), 3)

F4 Words in art. 7(1)(a)(i) substituted (1.8.2022) by The Universal Credit (Transitional Provisions) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2022 (S.R. 2022/194), regs. 1(1), 13, Sch. para. 3(4)