These Regulations amend the Housing Benefit Regulations 2006 (S.I. 2006/213) and the Housing Benefit (Persons who have attained the qualifying age for state pension credit) Regulations 2006 (S.I. 2006/214).

Regulations 2(3) and 3(3) provide that a person will be treated as not liable to make payments in respect of a dwelling and so will not be entitled to housing benefit if he or his partner ceased to be a tenant under a long tenancy of the dwelling within the previous 5 years. This does not apply if the claimant satisfies the housing benefit authority that he or his partner would not have been able to continue to occupy the property if they had not relinquished the long tenancy.

Regulations 2(4)(a) and 3(4)(a) provide that payments under any shared ownership lease are payments in respect of which housing benefit can be paid. Regulations 2(7) and 3(7) provide that shared ownership leases are to be “excluded tenancies” and therefore a claim for housing benefit in respect of a shared ownership lease cannot be referred to the Rent Officer.

Regulations 2(4)(b) and 3(4)(b) provides that where the claimant’s partner is the owner of a dwelling then payments by a claimant in respect of that dwelling are not eligible for housing benefit.

Regulations 2(5) and 3(5) provide that the amount of housing benefit payable to a claimant in respect of a dwelling will be subject to the maximum rent provisions from the beginning of his claim if his partner has claimed housing benefit in respect of that dwelling in the previous 52 weeks.

Regulations 2(6) and 3(6) provides that the period for making representations following a decision by a relevant authority relating to a Rent Officer’s determination or re-determination is one month from the day on which the person affected by the decision was notified of that decision.

A full regulatory impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as it has no impact on the cost of business, charities and the voluntary sector.