Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit Circular
Department for Work and Pensions
The Adelphi, 1 - 11 John Adam Street, London WC2N 6HT
HB/CTBA37/2003
ADJUDICATION AND OPERATIONS CIRCULAR
ACTION / For information
SUBJECT / Rent Officer referral arrangements from 6 October 2003 following abolition of benefit periods for pensioners
Guidance Manual
The information in this circular affects the content of the HB/CTB Guidance Manual. Please annotate the number of this circular against Chapter A10.40, Applications to the Rent Office, and A10.50, The 52 week rule.
Queries
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· content of this circular, contact Dave Jones, Housing Support Division, on
Tel: 020 7962 8313
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Crown Copyright 2003
Recipients may freely reproduce this circular.
HB/CTB Circular A(37)/2003
Contents
para
Rent Officer referral arrangements from 6 October 2003
Introduction 1
Action from 6 October 2003 2
Examples Appendix 1
Adjudication and Operations circular
November 2003
HB/CTB Circular A(xxxx)/2002
Appendix A
Adjudication and Operations circular
month 2002
HB/CTB Circular A(37)/2003
Rent Officer referral arrangements from 6 October 2003
Introduction
1 Following the abolition of benefit periods a new regime has been introduced to ensure a broadly annual review of Rent Officer determinations used for pensioner cases.
Action from 6 October 2003
2 From 6th October 2003 you are still required to make an application/referral to the Rent Officer at the start of a claim but are required to make subsequent applications 52 weeks from the date you made the previous application. A tenancy will be an 'excluded tenancy' during the 52 weeks starting from the date the last application was made unless a notification of a change relating to a rent allowance necessitates a new determination.
3 Therefore, the Rent Officer determination review process will no longer be tied to the continuous payment of benefit for 52 weeks.
4 It is important to note that re-referrals will be tied to the date the authority applied for the previous determination, not the date on which the last determination was made.
5 The abolition of benefit periods will mean that
· payment of HB/CTB will effectively be continuous, and
· benefit will only cease when entitlement ceases
6 Payments of benefit will therefore continue at the existing rate, using the existing Rent Officer determination, until the new determination is actioned. The new Rent Officer's determination will take effect from the first day following the end of the same 52-week period that has prompted the further referral.
7 Any arrears would be paid or overpayment calculated depending on the determination's effect on benefit entitlement.
8 As the date of applying for a Rent Officer determination will determine when a further application must be made, if there is any delay in applying to the Rent Officer it will put back the date on which the subsequent Rent Officer determination is due and consequently the date from which it will take effect.
9 We plan to refine the regulations with effect from the date of the April 2004 changes. Where an increase in the Rent Officer determination results in an increase in benefit where the rent is paid weekly, or in multiples of a week, the increase will take effect from the first day of the benefit week in which the first day following the end of the 52 week exclusion falls. Where a decrease in the Rent Officer determination results in a decrease in benefit the decrease will take effect from the first day of the benefit week following the date the determination was received at the local authority, for all claimants. This is designed to avoid overpayments.
10 Overpayments that result from a reduction in the Rent Officer determination in the case of a pensioner paid by rent allowance that occurs between 6 October 2003 and the date the above amendment takes effect will attract full subsidy. These overpayments should be classified as Departmental error. Although these overpayments are recoverable each case will have to be considered on its own merits, and a decision made on whether the claimant could reasonably be expected to realise they were being overpaid. These overpayments should be included in the appropriate total expenditure cells of the 2003/04 subsidy claim. Any amounts recovered should be recorded in the appropriate "Recovered DWP error overpayments" cells of the claim form.
11 By relating the period over which a tenancy is excluded to dates of application, a near annual review has been maintained. There will, of course, inevitably be cases where Rent Officer determinations may be used for longer periods, ie where applications are made late. However, local authorities will continue to be required to refer within three days of the end of the exclusion period, or as soon as practicable thereafter.
12 The relevant regulations are 11, 17, 21 and 24 of Statutory Instrument (SI) 2003/1338. A detailed explanation of the legislative changes was attached to our letter to Benefit Managers dated 29 May 2003.
Adjudication and Operations circular
November 2003
HB/CTB Circular A(37)/2003
Appendix 1
Examples
Example 1
Tenant A pays their rent weekly and makes a claim for benefit on 15th October 2003 and the authority applies to the rent officer on 23rd October 2003.
The claim is paid from 20th October 2003 using the initial Rent Officer determination.
The case is excluded from further application until 20 October 2004 (52 weeks from the original application, 23 October 2003) unless a notification of a change relating to a rent allowance is received.
A further application is made on 4 November 2004. That Rent Officer determination is used from 21 October 2004 (the day following the expiry of the 52 weeks on 20 October 2004).
The original Rent Officer determination would have been used for 53 benefit weeks.
Example 2
Tenant B pays their rent monthly and makes a claim for benefit on 21 October 2003 and the authority applies to the rent officer on 27 November 2003.
The claim is paid from 27 October 2003 using the initial Rent Officer determination.
The case is excluded from further application until 24 November 2004 (52 weeks from the original application, 27 November 2003).
A further application is not made until 21 December 2004. That Rent Officer determination is used from 25 November 2004 (the day following the expiry of the 52 weeks on 24 November 2004).
The original Rent Officer determination would have been used for 57 benefit weeks.
Adjudication and Operations circular
November 2003
HB/CTB Circular A(37)/2003
Appendix 1
Example 3
Tenant C is a single person, who pays their rent weekly and makes a claim for benefit on 17 October 2003, the authority applies to the rent officer on 23 October 2003.
The claim is paid from 20 October 2003 using the initial Rent Officer determination. Tenant C only claims HB for 13 weeks.
Tenant C moves out and tenant D, who is also a single person, moves in making a claim on 14 July 2004.
Payment is made from 19 July using the existing Rent Officer determination, as the case is excluded from further application until 20 October 2004 (52 weeks from the original application, 23 October 2003).
A further application is made on 4 November 2004. That Rent Officer determination is used from 21 October 2004 (the day following the expiry of the 52 weeks on 20 October 2004).
Adjudication and Operations circular
November 2003