PART 8Amount of benefit

Extended paymentsF172.

(1)

A claimant who is entitled to housing benefit (by virtue of the general conditions of entitlement) shall be entitled to an extended payment where—

(a)

the claimant or the claimant’s partner was entitled to a qualifying income-related benefit;

(b)

entitlement to a qualifying income-related benefit ceased because the claimant or the claimant’s partner—

(i)

commenced employment as an employed or self-employed earner;

(ii)

increased their earnings from such employment; or

(iii)

increased the number of hours worked in such employment,

and that employment is or, as the case may be, increased earnings or increased number of hours are expected to last five weeks or more; and

(c)

the claimant or the claimant’s partner had been entitled to and in receipt of a qualifying income-related benefit, jobseeker’s allowance or a combination of those benefits for a continuous period of at least 26 weeks before the day on which the entitlement to a qualifying income-related benefit ceased.

(2)

For the purpose of paragraph (1)(c), a claimant or a claimant’s partner is to be treated as having been entitled to and in receipt of a qualifying income-related benefit or jobseeker’s allowance during any period of less than five weeks in respect of which the claimant or the claimant’s partner was not entitled to any of those benefits because the claimant or the claimant’s partner was engaged in remunerative work as a consequence of their participation in an employment zone programme.

(3)

For the purpose of this regulation, where a claimant or a claimant’s partner is entitled to and in receipt of joint-claim jobseeker’s allowance they shall be treated as being entitled to and in receipt of jobseeker’s allowance.

(4)

A claimant must be treated as entitled to housing benefit by virtue of the general conditions of entitlement where—

(a)

the claimant ceased to be entitled to housing benefit because the claimant vacated the dwelling occupied as the claimant’s home;

(b)

the day on which the claimant vacated the dwelling was either in the week in which entitlement to a qualifying income-related benefit ceased, or in the preceding week; and

(c)

entitlement to the qualifying income-related benefit ceased in any of the circumstances listed in paragraph (1)(b).

(5)

This regulation shall not apply where, on the day before a claimant’s entitlement to income support ceased, regulation 6(5) of the Income Support Regulations (remunerative work: housing costs) applied to that claimant.