The Rate Relief Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2017

Time within which a claim for rate relief is to be made N.I.

5.—(1) Subject to the provisions of these regulations, where a claim for rate relief is received or treated as received within three months of the date the first payment of universal credit is issued, following the initial decision to award universal credit, the date of claim will be the first day of entitlement to such universal credit claim.

[F1 (1A) Subject to the provisions of these regulations where a revision in accordance with regulation 13 results in a disallowance of rate relief and the claimant would have been entitled to rate relief at any time between the effective date of that decision and the date that decision is made if a new claim had been made—

(a) where the relevant authority is aware that there is such entitlement at the time that decision is made, a claim may be treated as made in accordance with paragraph (1) for any such period;

(b) where the relevant authority is not aware of such entitlement the three month period referred to in paragraph (1) for any claim in that period shall start from the date the decision to revise is issued.

(1B) Subject to the provisions of these regulations where a revision in accordance with regulations 13(1)(h) and 14(7) results in a disallowance of rate relief and the claimant would be entitled to rate relief if a new claim was made from the day following the last day of entitlement a claim may be treated as made in accordance with paragraph (1) from that date.]

(2) Where a claimant is entitled to universal credit but was precluded from rate relief by virtue of regulation 10(1)(c) and housing benefit subsequently ceases—

(a) the day following this cessation will be treated as the first day of entitlement of universal credit; and

(b) the first payment of universal credit issued following cessation shall be treated as the first payment of universal credit.

(3) For the purposes of paragraph (1) where a claim is not received within the times specified in paragraph (1) or (2) but is received within one month of the date of issue of the next rate bill following the death of a former partner who was, at the date of his death entitled to rate relief in respect of the same dwelling, the date of claim or claims will be the first day of entitlement to any universal credit claim made on or after that date of death until the claim for rate relief is determined.

(4) [F2 Subject to paragraphs (13) and (14), where] a claim for rate relief is not received, or treated as received within a time specified in paragraphs (1) to (3), the date of claim will be—

(a) 3 months before the date it was received or treated as received if there is entitlement to universal credit on that date.

(b) where there is no entitlement to universal credit on the date specified in sub-paragraph (a), the first day of entitlement of any universal credit claim made between that date and the date the claim for rate relief is determined.

(5) Where a claimant is unable to make a claim by means of an electronic communication in accordance with the Schedule due to a failure of the official computer system, on the last day of the time specified within paragraphs (1) to (3), the claim will be treated as made on that day provided it is made within 48 hours of the system becoming available again.

(6) A claim for rate relief made by means of an electronic communication in accordance with the provisions set out in the Schedule is defective if it is not completed in accordance with the instructions of the relevant authority.

(7) A claim made in accordance with regulation 3(3) shall be properly completed if the relevant authority is provided with all the information requested and the claim is defective if all the information is not so provided.

(8) If a claim for rate relief is defective the relevant authority must inform the claimant of the defect.

(9) The relevant authority shall treat the claim as properly made in the first instance if–

(a) in the case of a claim for rate relief made in accordance with regulation 3(3), the person corrects the defect; or

(b) in the case of a claim for rate relief made by means of an electronic communication, the claim is completed in accordance with any instructions of the relevant authority,

within one month from the date on which the claimant is first informed of the defect.

(10) A claim for rate relief that is not properly made is not a claim for the purposes of these regulations.

(11) In the case of a claim for rate relief where the defect is not rectified in accordance with paragraph (9), the claim for rate relief will be treated as received on the date that the defect is rectified.

[F3 (11A) For the purposes of these regulations where a new award of universal credit is made to a claimant couple in accordance with regulation 22(5) of the Universal Credit Regulations any award of universal credit for a claimant that subsisted on the day before that new award is effective from shall be treated as ending on that day.]

(12) [F4 Subject to paragraphs (13) and (14) where] a claimant makes a claim for rate relief and there are any periods where there is no entitlement to universal credit before the claim for rate relief has been determined, that claim for rate relief shall be treated as a multiple claim for each new universal credit award up to the date of determination of that rate relief claim and the date of claim for each of those claims will be the date of first entitlement of each of the universal credit awards within that period.

(13) For a date of claim to apply in accordance with this regulation, the claimant must otherwise be entitled to rate relief.

[F5 (14) Where paragraph (13) applies the date of claim will be the date or dates that the claimant would otherwise become entitled to rate relief between—

(a)

the date that would in accordance with this regulation otherwise be the date of claim; and

(b)

the date the decision on the claim is made.]

Textual Amendments

F1 Reg. 5(1A)(1B) inserted (1.4.2023) by The Rate Relief (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2023 (S.R. 2023/39), regs. 1, 2(4)(a)

F2 Words in reg. 5(4) substituted (8.5.2018) by The Rate Relief (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2018 (S.R. 2018/109), regs. 1, 2(4)(a)

F3 Reg. 5(11A) inserted (1.4.2023) by The Rate Relief (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2023 (S.R. 2023/39), regs. 1, 2(4)(b)

F4 Words in reg. 5(12) substituted (8.5.2018) by The Rate Relief (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2018 (S.R. 2018/109), regs. 1, 2(4)(b)

F5 Reg. 5(14) substituted (8.5.2018) by The Rate Relief (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2018 (S.R. 2018/109), regs. 1, 2(4)(c)