The Community Charge Benefits (Transitional) Order 1989

Transitional provision for claims

2.—(1) A claim for community charge benefits under the Benefits Regulations may be made on or after 30th August 1989 and a claim for housing benefit under the General Regulations or for community charge rebates under the Rebates Regulations made at any time in the period beginning with that date and ending with 31st March 1990, may in addition be treated as a claim for community charge benefits.

(2) Except in cases to which article 3 applies, notwithstanding in England and Wales, that a person is not yet shown in an appropriate authority’s community charges register as subject to a personal community charge of the authority concerned, where the authority is of the opinion that unless there is a change of circumstances that person will satisfy the conditions of entitlement for community charge benefits on the relevant date, it may invite him to claim community charge benefits from that date.

(3) Any claim to which paragraph (1) or paragraph (2) refers made in the period from 30th August 1989 to 31st March 1990 shall be treated as made in respect of a benefit period beginning on the relevant date, except where the claim is in respect of a period beginning on a later date, and regulation 60(12) of the Benefits Regulations (13 week time limit on claims in advance of entitlement) shall not apply to any claim falling to be so treated.

(4) A claim for community charge rebates under the Rebates Regulations made, but not determined before the relevant date–

(a) shall remain effective, in respect of any period before that date, as a claim for a rebate under those Regulations; and

(b) shall be treated, in respect of any later period, as a claim for community charge benefits under the Benefits Regulations.

(5) Subject to the provisions of this Order, any claim for community charge benefits under the Benefits Regulations made or treated as made in accordance with paragraphs (1) to (3) and (4)(b) may be determined before the relevant date in accordance with those Regulations.

(6) A determination which is made awarding community charge benefit under the Benefits Regulations in accordance with paragraph (5)–

(a) may award that benefit from the relevant date if it appears probable to the appropriate authority that the conditions for entitlement will be satisfied from that date;

(b) shall be subject to the conditions for entitlement being satisfied on the relevant date; and

(c) may be reviewed if any question arises as to the satisfaction of those conditions.

(7) Where in Scotland a claim is made for community charge rebates on or after the relevant date in respect of a period before that date, the appropriate authority may determine under regulation 60(18) of the Benefits Regulations (backdating for good cause) that the claim may be backdated and, in any case where it is so determined, entitlement to a rebate in respect of the period before the relevant date shall be calculated in accordance with the provisions of the Rebates Regulations.

(8) Regulation 64(3) of the Benefits Regulations (time within which claims are to be determined) shall not apply to claims for community charge benefits made or treated as made under this article until 14 days before the relevant date.

(9) To determine a person’s entitlement to community charge benefits under the Benefits Regulations for the purposes of this Order, the appropriate authority may require that person to furnish such certificates, documents, information and evidence as it may reasonably require.