The Housing Benefit (Transitional Provisions) (Amendment) Regulations 2014

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit (Consequential Provisions) Regulations 2006 (S.I. 2006/217) (“the Consequential Provisions Regulations”) and the Housing Benefit Regulations 2006 (S.I. 2006/213) (the “Housing Benefit Regulations”).

Paragraph 4 of Schedule 3 to the Consequential Provisions Regulations provides transitional protection for certain housing benefit claimants. These Regulations amend the Consequential Provisions Regulations to provide that this transitional protection is not to apply to claimants whose housing benefit is payable in the form of a rent rebate or whose landlord is a registered housing association.

However, the transitional protection will continue to apply:

If a relevant authority had, on or before 31^st March 2013, reduced a person’s rent or made a determination that a person’s dwelling was unreasonably large or their rent was unreasonably high pursuant to regulation 13 of the Housing Benefit Regulations as set out in paragraph 5 of Schedule 3 to the Consequential Provisions Regulations, but had not reduced that person’s rent because the provisions in that regulation prevented it from doing so;

where the claimant’s partner or both of them have attained the qualifying age for state pension credit.

These Regulations also amend the Housing Benefit Regulations to provide that regulation A13 of those Regulations (when a maximum rent (social sector) is to be determined) shall not apply in a case where paragraph 4 of Schedule 3 to the Consequential Provisions Regulations applies.

A full impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as it has no impact on business or civil society organisations.