PART 7Payment and offsetting
Time and manner of payment
21.—(1) The relevant authority shall pay rate relief at any of the following frequencies—
(a)from the date of claim up to the end of the financial year in which the decision to award rate relief is made and annually for each financial year thereafter;
(b)monthly in arrears for the attribution period; or
(c)such other time as is appropriate to the circumstances of the case.
(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), for the purposes of regulation 19 (Cases where a relevant authority may suspend) and Part 8 (Overpayments), where rate relief is credited to a rate account, rate relief shall be treated as paid monthly in arrears on the last day of the attribution period.
(3) In relation to any credit treated as made in accordance with paragraph (2) after a decision in relation to suspension or revision is made—
(a)where a new decision results in a disallowance, is made; or
(b)where a new decision results in a reduced award, is made after regulation 20 is applied,
the balance shall be debited from the rate account and treated as if it were never made after the application of regulation 22.
Offsetting
22.—(1) Where a person has been paid a sum of rate relief under a decision which is subsequently revised or further revised, any sum paid in respect of the period covered by the subsequent decision shall be offset against arrears of entitlement under the subsequent decision except to the extent that the sum exceeds the arrears and shall be treated as properly paid on account of them.
(2) Any amount of housing benefit for rates paid in respect of a period for which there is rate relief entitlement may be treated as properly payable on account of rate relief up to the amount of rate relief that is due for that period.