1991 No. 441
The Housing Benefit and Community Charge Benefit (Subsidy) Regulations 1991
Made
Laid before Parliament
Coming into force
The Secretary of State for Social Security in exercise of powers conferred by sections 30(8B) and (8C), 3IF(6) and 84(1) of the Social Security Act 19861 and section 166(1) to (3A) of the Social Security Act 19752 and of all other powers enabling him in that behalf, after consultation with organisations appearing to him to be representative of authorities concerned3 and after agreement by the Social Security Advisory Committee that these Regulations should not be referred to it4, hereby makes the following Regulations:
Citation, commencement and interpretation1
1
These Regulations may be cited as the Housing Benefit and Community Charge Benefit (Subsidy) Regulations 1991 and shall come into force on 1st April 1991.
2
In these Regulations—
“the Act” means the Social Security Act 19865
“the 1987 Regulations” means the Housing Benefit (General) Regulations 19876
“the 1989 Regulations” means the Community Charge Benefits (General) Regulations 19897
“authority”—
- a
with respect to claims for community charge benefit subsidy, means a charging authority to which section 3IB(2) of the Act refers or, as the case may be, a levying authority to which section 3IB(3) of the Act refers8;
- b
with respect to claims for housing benefit subsidy, means a housing, rating or local authority or, as the case may be, in Scotland a levying authority;
- a
“community charge rebate” means a rebate to which section 28(1)(aa) of the Act9 refers;
“eligible rent” shall be construed in accordance with regulation 10 of the 1987 Regulations10;
“excess benefits” shall be construed in accordance with section 31D of the Act11;
“Housing Revenue Accounts rebates” has the meaning assigned by section 84(1) of the Act;
“Subsidy Order” means an Order in respect of the relevant year made under section 30(2) (subsidy order with respect to housing benefit) or section 31 F(2) (subsidy order with respect to community charge benefit) of the Act12;
“the relevant year” means the year In respect of which a claim for housing benefit subsidy or community charge benefit subsidy is made;
“rent rebate” and “rent allowance” shall be construed in accordance with section 28 of the Act but shall exclude, in the case of a local authority in England and Wales, any Housing Revenue Account rebates granted by them.
Particulars to be supplied by an authority to the Secretary of State in relation to a claim for housing benefit or community charge benefit subsidy2
For the purposes of section 30(SB) of the Act (power for the Secretary of State to withhold payments of housing benefit subsidy or community charge benefit subsidy)13 the prescribed particulars which are to be supplied to Secretary of State by an authority in connection with its claim for housing benefit subsidy or community charge benefit subsidy for the relevant year are specified in the Schedule to these Regulations.
Conditions to be complied with on making a claim for housing benefit subsidy or community charge benefit subsidy3
A claim for housing benefit subsidy or for community charge benefit subsidy shall be certified by the authority’s auditor and the authority making the claim shall in addition provide such information and produce such records as are required to satisfy the Secretary of State that the claim Is properly calculated and shall keep all records with a bearing on its claim in such a way as to enable them to show and the auditor to check, that entitlement to subsidy has been correctly calculated.
Time within which claims for housing benefit subsidy and community charge benefit subsidy are to be made and prescribed particulars provided to the Secretary of State4
1
A claim in respect of housing benefit subsidy or community charge benefit subsidy must be received by the Secretary of State on or before the 30th September in the year following the relevant year.
2
Any particulars relating to a claim for subsidy to which regulation 2 and the Schedule to these Regulations refer, shall be supplied to the Secretary of State at the date the claim is made together with any certificates, records or other information required by the Secretary of State under regulation 3 (conditions to be complied with on making a claim for subsidy).
Signed by authority of the Secretary of State for Social Security.
SCHEDULE
Prescribed particulars relating to claims for Housing Benefit and Community Charge Benefit subsidy for the relevant year
1
The total rent rebate and total rent allowance expenditure in the relevant year for all cases, other than rent rebate under Part VI of the Local Government and Housing Act 198914.
2
3
The total rent rebate expenditure in the relevant year in cases to which paragraph 4 refers, which is attributable to that part of the eligible rent which exceeds the relevant threshold specified in a Subsidy Order under section 30(2) or 31F(2) of the Act for the purpose of calculating subsidy on such rents.
4
The average weekly rent for local authority tenants in Scotland, for tenants of a New Town Corporation established under the New Towns Act 198117 or the New Towns (Scotland) Act 1968 18 and for tenants of the Development Board for Rural Wales, in respect of tenants who received rent rebates in March 1989 and March 1991 and for those who did not, where the tenants lived at the same address for both periods.
5
The total number of awards of rent rebates, rent allowances and community charge benefits in the relevant year made in respect of periods before the date of a person’s claim where there is a good cause for the claim not having been made at an earlier date and the total amount of rebate, allowances and benefits awarded for such periods.
6
The total number and amounts of overpayments of housing benefit in respect of rent rebates, rent allowances, community charge rebates or of excess community charge benefits, which are identified in the relevant year and are in consequence of—
a
official errors by the Department of Social Security;
b
official errors by the authority claiming subsidy;
c
the disclosure of changes of circumstances affecting awards of benefit paid or credited in advance where the awards are made in the two benefit weeks following the date of the disclosure;
d
the crediting of rebates in advance of entitlement other than awards to which sub-paragraph (c) refers;
e
errors or fraud by claimants;
f
duplicate payments following non-receipt, loss or theft of benefit where the original instrument of payment has been encashed.
7
8
The total amount of overpayments of housing benefit made under the Housing Benefit Regulations 1985 which are recovered in the relevant year from claimants to whom Regulation 24 of those Regulations (persons in receipt of supplementary benefit) applied.
9
The total amount of overpayments of housing benefit or excess community charge benefits in the relevant year in consequence of official errors by the Department of Social Security which are recovered in the relevant year.
10
The total amount of awards of excess benefits allowed in the relevant year as defined by regulation 83(a), (b) or (c) of the 1989 Regulations (meaning of excess benefits)21.
11
Any other overpayments of housing benefit or excess community charge benefits in the relevant year.
12
The total number and total amount of awards of benefit backdated in the relevant year under regulation 72(15) of the 1987 Regulations or 60(18) of the 1989 Regulations (backdated awards of benefit which are over aid or excess benefits.
13
The total rent allowance expenditure in the relevant year attributable to—
a
that part of any weekly eligible rents which exceeds any relevant threshold specified in a Subsidy Order under section 30(2) or 3IF(2) of the Act for the purpose of calculating subsidy on such rents;
b
that part of any weekly eligible rents which were at or below any such threshold; and
14
The total rent allowance expenditure in the relevant year not attributable to any excess of eligible rent over the threshold in cases to which paragraph 13(a) refers.
15
The total rent allowance expenditure in the relevant year attributable to tenancies which are liable to determinations of the rent officer of the rent which a landlord might reasonably expect to obtain made under Schedule I of the Rent Officers (Additional Functions) Order 199024 or the Rent Officers (Additional Functions) (Scotland) Order 199025.
16
The total rent allowance expenditure in the relevant year—
a
which is attributable to weekly eligible rents which do not exceed any determination of a rent officer of a reasonable market rent or notional rent, under the Orders to which paragraph 15 refers;
b
which is attributable to the difference between the reasonable market rent for the accommodation and the comparable rent for suitably sized properties in cases where the rent officer has determined that accommodation is unreasonably large and is paid for a period of up to 13 calendar weeks;
c
which is attributable to that part of the weekly eligible rents which exceeded the rent officer’s determination of a reasonable market rent or notional rent, in respect of which no restriction under regulation 11 (restrictions of unreasonable payments) or regulation 12 (restrictions on rent increases) of the 1987 Regulations would be made26 other than expenditure to which sub-paragraph (b) of this paragraph refers;
d
which is attributable to that part of the weekly eligible rents which exceeded a rent officer’s determination of a reasonable market rent or notional rent, but excluding amounts to which sub-paragraphs (b) or (c) refer;
e
which is attributable to the eligible rents in respect of deregulated housing association tenancies not referred to the rent officer;
f
which is attributable to cases subject to referral to the rent officer for a determination but where no such determination has been obtained.
17
In Scotland, the total community charge rebate expenditure in the relevant year.
18
The total rate rebate expenditure in the relevant year.
19
The total community charge benefit expenditure in the relevant year.
20
The total expenditure in the relevant year in respect of discretionary increases of benefit where modifications of the 1987 Regulations have been made in accordance with section 28(6) of the Act or modifications of the 1989 Regulations have been made in accordance with section 31B(6) of the Act27.
21
The total expenditure in the relevant year in respect of increases of benefit under either regulation 69(8) of the 1987 Regulations, regulation 57 of the 1988 Regulations, or regulation 58 of the 1989 Regulations (increases of weekly benefit for exceptional circumstances).
(This note is not part of the Regulations)