The Housing Benefit Regulations 2006
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | SI 2006/213 |
2006 No. 213
SOCIAL SECURITY
The Housing Benefit Regulations 2006
Made 2nd February 2006
Laid before Parliament 10th February 2006
Coming into force 6th March 2006
The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions makes the following Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 123(1)(d), 130(2) to (4), 134, 135(1), (2) and (6), 136, 137 and 175(1) and (3) to (6) of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 19921, sections 1(1) and (1C), 5(1)(a) to (d) and (g) to (r) and (6), 7(2), 7A, 75, 113, 122E(3) and (4), 126A, 128A, 134(1A) and (8)(b), 189(1) and (3) to (6) and 191 of the Social Security Administration Act 19922, section 122(3) and (5) of the Housing Act 19963and sections 34, 79(1) and (4) and 84 of the Social Security Act 19984.
These Regulations are made for the purpose only of consolidating other regulations revoked in the Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit (Consequential Provisions) Regulations 20065.
In accordance with section 176(1) of the Social Security Administration Act 1992, the Secretary of State has consulted with organisations appearing to him to be representative of the authorities concerned.
PART 1
General
Citation and commencement
1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Housing Benefit Regulations 2006.
(2) These Regulations are to be read, where appropriate, with the Consequential Provisions Regulations and, in a case where regulation 5(2) applies, with the Housing Benefit (Persons who have attained the qualifying age for state pension credit) Regulations 20066.
(3) Except as provided in Schedule 4 to the Consequential Provisions Regulations, these Regulations shall come into force on 6th March 2006.
(4) The regulations consolidated by these Regulations are revoked, in consequence of the consolidation, by the Consequential Provisions Regulations.
Interpretation
2.—(1) In these Regulations—
“the Act” means the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992;
“the 1973 Act” means the Employment and Training Act 19737;
“Abbeyfield Home” means an establishment run by the Abbeyfield Society including all bodies corporate or incorporate which are affiliated to that Society;
“adoption leave” means a period of absence from work on ordinary or additional adoption leave by virtue of section 75A or 75B of the Employment Rights Act 19968;
“the Administration Act” means the Social Security Administration Act 1992;
“appropriate DWP office” means an office of the Department for Work and Pensions dealing with state pension credit or an office which is normally open to the public for the receipt of claims for income support or a jobseeker’s allowance;
“assessment period” means such period as is prescribed in regulations 29 to 31 over which income falls to be calculated;
“attendance allowance” means—
(a) an attendance allowance under Part 3 of the Act;
(b) an increase of disablement pension under section 104 or 105 of the Act;
(c) a payment under regulations made in exercise of the power conferred by paragraph 7(2)(b) of Part 2 of Schedule 8 to the Act9;
(d) an increase of an allowance which is payable in respect of constant attendance under paragraph 4 of Part 1 of Schedule 8 to the Act;
(e) a payment by virtue of article 14, 15, 16, 43 or 44 of the Personal Injuries (Civilians) Scheme 198310or any analogous payment; or
(f) any payment based on need for attendance which is paid as part of a war disablement pension;
“the benefit Acts” means the Act and the Jobseekers Act11;
“benefit week” means a period of 7 consecutive days commencing upon a Monday and ending on a Sunday;
“care home” in England and Wales has the meaning assigned to it by section 3 of the Care Standards Act 200012and in Scotland means a care home service within the meaning assigned to it by section 2(3) of the Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 200113;
“child” means a person under the age of 16;
“child tax credit” means a child tax credit under section 8 of the Tax Credits Act;
“the Children Order” means the Children (Northern Ireland) Order 199514;
“claim” means a claim for housing benefit;
“claimant” means a person claiming housing benefit;
“close relative” means a parent, parent-in-law, son, son-in-law, daughter, daughter-in-law, step-parent, step-son, step-daughter, brother, sister, or if any of the preceding persons is one member of a couple, the other member of that couple;
“community charge benefit” means community charge benefits under Part 7 of the Act as originally enacted;
“concessionary payment” means a payment made under arrangements made by the Secretary of State with the consent of the Treasury which is charged either to the National Insurance Fund or to a Departmental Expenditure Vote to which payments of benefit under the Act or the Child Benefit Act 197515are charged;
“the Consequential Provisions Regulations” means the Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit (Consequential Provisions) Regulations 200616;
“co-ownership scheme” means a scheme under which the dwelling is let by a housing association and the tenant, or his personal representative, will, under the terms of the tenancy agreement or of the agreement under which he became a member of the association, be entitled, on his ceasing to be a member and subject to any conditions stated in either agreement, to a sum calculated by reference directly or indirectly to the value of the dwelling;
“couple” means—
(a) a man and a woman who are married to each other and are members of the same household;
(b) a man and a woman who are not married to each other but are living together as husband and wife;
(c) two people of the same sex who are civil partners of each other and are members of the same household; or
(d) two people of the same sex who are not civil partners of each other but are living together as if they were civil partners,
and for the purposes of sub-paragraph (d), two people of the same sex are to be regarded as living together as if they were civil partners if, but only if, they would be regarded as living together as husband and wife were they instead two people of the opposite sex;
“Crown tenant” means a person who occupies a dwelling under a tenancy or licence where the interest of the landlord belongs to Her Majesty in right of the Crown or to a government department or is held in trust for Her Majesty for the purposes of a government department, except (in the case of an interest belonging to Her Majesty in right of the Crown) where the interest is under the management of the Crown Estate Commissioners;
“date of claim” means the date on which the claim is made, or treated as made, for the purposes of regulation 83 (time and manner in which claims are to be made);
“the Decisions and Appeals Regulations” means the Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit (Decisions and Appeals) Regulations 200117;
“designated authority” means any of the following—
(a) the Secretary of State;
(b) a person providing services to the Secretary of State;
(c) a local authority;
(d) a person providing services to, or authorised to exercise any functions of, any such authority;
“designated office” means the office designated by the relevant authority for the receipt of claims to housing benefit—
(a) by notice upon or with a form approved by it for the purpose of claiming housing benefit; or
(b) by reference upon or with such a form to some other document available from it and sent by electronic means or otherwise on application and without charge; or
(c) by any combination of the provisions set out in sub-paragraphs (a) and (b) above;
“disability living allowance” means a disability living allowance under section 71 of the Act;
“earnings” has the meaning prescribed in regulation 35 or, as the case may be, 37;
“the Eileen Trust” means the charitable trust of that name established on 29th March 1993 out of funds provided by the Secretary of State for the benefit of persons eligible for payment in accordance with its provisions;
“eligible rent” is to be construed in accordance with regulation 12 (rent);
“employed earner” is to be construed in accordance with section 2(1)(a) of the Act and also includes a person who is in receipt of a payment which is payable under any enactment having effect in Northern Ireland and which corresponds to statutory sick pay or statutory maternity pay;
“employment zone” means an area within Great Britain designated for the purposes of section 60 of the Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 199918and an “employment zone programme” means a programme established for such an area or areas designed to assist claimants for a jobseeker’s allowance to obtain sustainable employment;
“employment zone contractor” means a person who is undertaking the provision of facilities in respect of an employment zone programme on behalf of the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions;
“extended payment” means a payment of housing benefit pursuant to regulation 72 (extended payments);
“extended payment (severe disablement allowance and incapacity benefit)” means a payment of housing benefit pursuant to regulation 73 (extended payments (severe disablement allowance and incapacity benefit));
“family” has the meaning assigned to it by section 137(1) of the Act;
“the former Regulations” means the Housing Benefit (General) Regulations 198719;
“the Fund” means moneys made available from time to time by the Secretary of State for the benefit of persons eligible for payment in accordance with the provisions of a scheme established by him on 24th April 1992 or, in Scotland, on 10th April 1992;
“gateway office” means an appropriate DWP office or an office designated by the appropriate authority which is nominated by the Secretary of State as a gateway office and referred to in a notice upon or attached to a form approved by the appropriate authority for the purpose of claiming housing...
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