The Housing Benefit (Consequential Provisions) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006

Persons from abroad

3.—(1) Sub-paragraphs (2) to (5) apply where, in relation to a claim for income support, a social fund payment or housing benefit, as the case may be, a person has submitted a claim for asylum on or before 2nd April 2000 and is notified that he has been recorded by the Secretary of State as a refugee within the definition in Article 1 of the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees done at Geneva on 28th July 1951 as extended by Article 1(2) of the Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees done at New York on 31st January 1967.

(2) Where this paragraph applies, the Housing Benefit Regulations and, subject to paragraph (3), the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations shall have effect as if—

(a) in Schedule A1 to those Regulations—

(i) in paragraph 1(1) from “his claim for housing benefit” to the end there were substituted “his claim for housing benefit shall be treated as having been made on whichever of the dates specified in sub-paragraph (2) applies in his case”;

(ii) for paragraph 1(2) there were substituted—

“(2) A claim for housing benefit to which sub-paragraph (1) refers shall be treated as made—

(a) in the case of a claimant who made a claim for asylum upon arrival in the United Kingdom, on the date on which his claim for asylum was first refused by the Secretary of State or 5th February 1996 if that is later; or

(b) in the case of a claimant whose claim for asylum was made other than on arrival in the United Kingdom, on the date of that claim for asylum or 5th February 1996 if that is later.”;

(iii) for paragraph 2 there were substituted—

“2.— (1) A claim for housing benefit for the relevant period may be made to the relevant authority for the dwelling which the claimant occupied as his home and in respect of which he was liable to make payments.

(2) Where the claimant occupied more than one dwelling as his home in the appropriate period, only one claim for housing benefit shall be made to the appropriate authority in respect of that period.

(3) A claim for housing benefit, to which this paragraph refers, shall be made—

(a) in the case of a claimant who was notified by the Secretary of State in the period from 24th July 1996 to 15th October 1996 that he had been recorded as a refugee, within 28 days of the later date;

(b) in any other case, within 28 days of a claimant being notified by the Secretary of State that he has been recorded as a refugee.

(4) Regulation 81(12) shall not have effect with respect to claims to which this Schedule applies.”;

(b) in Schedule 6 to the Housing Benefit Regulations for paragraph 57B there were substituted—

“57B.   Any amount of income support to which a person is entitled by virtue of regulation 21A of the Income Support Regulations as in operation on 2nd April 2000.”;

(c) in Schedule 7 to the Housing Benefit Regulations for paragraph 47B there were substituted—

“47B.   Any amount of income support to which a person is entitled by virtue of regulation 21A of the Income Support Regulations as in operation on 2nd April 2000.”.

(3) In Schedule A1 to the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations in paragraph 2(4), as substituted by sub-paragraph (2) of this paragraph, the reference to “Regulation 81(12)” is a reference to “Regulation 62(13)”.