55.—(1) Where a claim for council tax benefit has been sent or delivered to an office of a designated authority in accordance with regulation 53(4)(e), the date on which the claim is made shall be—
(a)except where paragraph (b) applies, the date the claim is received at an office of the designated authority; or
(b)where in the one month before the claim is received in an office of a designated authority, the person making the claim or a person acting on his behalf had notified an office of a designated authority of his intention to make such a claim, the date the notification was given.
(2) A notification of intention to make a claim is deemed to be given on the date on which notification of the intention to claim council tax benefit is received, in whatever form, from the claimant, or the person acting on his behalf, at an office of a designated authority.
(3) Paragraph (2) applies where neither income support nor a jobseeker's allowance is claimed in conjunction with council tax benefit.
(4) Where the person claiming council tax benefit in accordance with regulation 53(4)(e), or the partner of that person has claimed income support or income-based jobseeker's allowance but no award of that benefit has been made, the date on which the claim for council tax benefit is made shall be determined as if sub-paragraphs (a) and (c) of paragraph (1) of regulation 54 applied to that claim as they apply to claims under regulation 53(4)(d).