The Rate Relief (Qualifying Age) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2007

PART 2 Provisions affecting entitlement to rate relief

Entitlement to rate relief

7.  A person is entitled to rate relief if—

(a) he is liable to make payments in respect of a hereditament which he occupies as his home;

(b) there is an appropriate maximum rate relief in his case; and

(c) either—

(i) he is, or if a claim for housing benefit were made would be, entitled to less than 100% housing benefit; or

(ii) he is not, or if such a claim were made would not be, entitled to any housing benefit because his income exceeds the amount calculated in accordance with Part 5 (applicable amounts).

8.  Where a person is entitled to rate relief, then—

(a) if he has no income or his income does not exceed the applicable amount calculated in accordance with Part 5 (applicable amounts), the amount of rate relief shall be the amount which is the appropriate maximum rate relief in his case; or

(b) if his income exceeds the applicable amount calculated in accordance with Part 5, the amount of rate relief shall be the amount calculated under regulation 22 (calculation of weekly amount of rate relief).

Exclusions from rate relief

Exclusions from rate relief

9.  Where one member of a family is entitled to rate relief that entitlement excludes any other member being entitled to that relief for the same period.

10.  A person shall not be entitled to rate relief where he is a person who is not chargeable to rates in respect of a hereditament.

Modification of Part II and Schedule A1

11.—(1) Part II of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations (provisions affecting entitlement to housing benefit) shall apply for the purposes of these Regulations as it applies for the purposes of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations with the following modifications—

(a) as if for “housing benefit”, wherever it occurs, there were substituted “rate relief”;

(b) as if for “benefit weeks”, wherever it occurs, there were substituted “rate relief weeks”;

(c) as if—

(i) for “dwelling”, wherever it occurs, there were substituted “hereditament”;

(ii) in regulation 7(6) for “dwellings”, wherever it occurs, there were substituted “hereditaments”;

(d) as if in regulation 7—

(i) in paragraphs (3) and (4) “(including payments of mortgage interest or analogous payments)” were omitted;

(ii) in paragraph (3) after “of a dwelling)” there were inserted “as applied with modifications for the purposes of the Rate Relief (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2007 by regulation 21 of those Regulations”;

(iii) in paragraph (6)(b) after “Housing Benefit Regulations” there were inserted “as applied with modifications for the purposes of the Rate Relief (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2007 by regulation 21 of those Regulations”;

(iv) in paragraph (9)—

(aa) in sub-paragraph (a) after “regulation 62”;

(bb) in sub-paragraph (b) after “Part IX”,

there were inserted “of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 25”;

(e) as if in regulation 8—

(i) in paragraph (1)—

(aa) after “regulation 9” there were inserted “of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 11”;

(bb) in sub-paragraph (e) after “Housing Benefit Regulations” there were inserted “as applied with modifications for the purposes of the Rate Relief (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2007 by regulation 21 of those Regulations”;

(ii) in paragraph (2) after “to 60” there were inserted “of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 23”;

(f) as if in regulation 9(1)(l) for “Part VII of the Act” there were substituted “Article 30A of the principal Order”;

(g) as if in regulation 10—

(i) in paragraph (1) after “Schedule A1 (treatment of claims for housing benefit by refugees)” there were inserted “to the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 11”;

(ii) in paragraph (6) after “2000” there were inserted “as applied for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 13”;

(h) as if in regulation 10A—

(i) after “Schedule A1”, wherever it occurs, there were inserted “to the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 11”;

(ii) in paragraph (1)(a) for “; and” there were substituted “.”;

(iii) paragraphs (1)(b) and (2) were omitted.

(2) Schedule A1 to the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations shall apply for the purposes of these Regulations as it applies for the purposes of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations with the following modifications—

(a) as if for “housing benefit”, wherever it occurs, there were substituted “rate relief”;

(b) as if for “dwelling”, wherever it occurs, there were substituted “hereditament”;

(c) as if for “benefit”, wherever it occurs, there were substituted “rate relief”;

(d) as if “rent or”, wherever it occurs, were omitted;

(e) as if in paragraph 2(4) after “regulation 62(13)” there were inserted “of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 25”;

(f) as if paragraph 3(1) were omitted;

(g) as if in paragraph 4 after “Part V” there were inserted “of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 17”;

(h) as if in paragraph 6 after “regulation 65” there were inserted “of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 25”;

(i) as if in paragraph 7 after “Part VII” there were inserted “of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 21”;

(j) as if in paragraph 8—

(i) in sub-paragraph (2) after “regulation 71”;

(ii) in sub-paragraph (3) “and 74”,

there were inserted “of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 30”;

(k) as if in paragraph 10 after “Schedule 9” there were inserted “to the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 29”.

Modification of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999

12.  Section 115 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999(1) (exclusion from benefits) shall apply for the purposes of these Regulations as it applies to the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations with the following modifications—

(a) as if for paragraph (1) there were substituted—

“(1) A person shall not be entitled to rate relief while he is a person to whom this section applies.”;

(b) as if paragraphs (2), (5), (7) and (8) were omitted;

(c) as if for paragraph (6) there were substituted—

“(6) In relation to rate relief “prescribed” means prescribed by regulations made by the Department of Finance and Personnel.”.

Modification of the Social Security (Immigration and Asylum) Consequential Amendments Regulations

13.  Regulation 2 of and Part I of the Schedule to the Social Security (Immigration and Asylum) Consequential Amendments Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000(2) shall apply for the purposes of these Regulations as they apply for the purposes of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations with the following modifications—

(a) as if in regulation 2—

(i) in paragraph (1) for “income-based jobseeker’s allowance, income support, a social fund payment or housing benefit under the Contributions and Benefits Act, as the case may be,” there were substituted “rate relief”;

(ii) paragraphs (2), (3), (4)(b), (5) were omitted;

(iii) in paragraph (4)(a) for “income support, a social fund payment or housing benefit under the Contributions and Benefits Act, as the case may be,” there were substituted “rate relief”;

(iv) in paragraph (6)—

(aa) for “housing benefit or a social fund payment under the Contributions and Benefits Act, as the case may be,” there were substituted “rate relief”;

(bb) after “regulation 11(4)” there were inserted “of the Social Security (Immigration and Asylum) Consequential Amendments Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000”;

(b) as if in Part I of the Schedule for the title there were substituted “Persons not excluded from rate relief under section 115 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999”.

(1)

1999 c. 33

(2)

S.R. 2000 No. 71