The Rent Officers (Housing Benefit and Universal Credit Functions) (Local Housing Allowance Amendments) Order 2014

Made: 24th November 2014

Laid before Parliament: 1st December 2014

Coming into force: 8th January 2015

The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions makes the following Order in exercise of the powers conferred by section 122(1) and (6) of the Housing Act 1996[^f00001].

Citation and commencement

1

This Order may be cited as the Rent Officers (Housing Benefit and Universal Credit Functions) (Local Housing Allowance Amendments) Order 2014 and comes into force on 8th January 2015.

Amendment to the Rent Officers (Housing Benefit Functions) Order 1997

2

• (1) The Rent Officers (Housing Benefit Functions) Order 1997[^f00002] is amended as follows.

• (2) For paragraph (2B) of article 4B (broad rental market area determinations and local housing allowance determinations)[^f00003] substitute—

(2B) The date specified for the purposes of paragraph (2A) is the last working day of January.

• (3) Schedule 3B (broad rental market area determinations and local housing allowance determinations)[^f00004] is amended as follows—

• (a) For the table in sub-paragraph (9) of paragraph 2 (local housing allowance for category of dwelling in paragraph 1)[^f00005] substitute—

• (b) For the table in paragraph 6[^f00006] substitute the table in Schedule 1 to this Order.

Amendment to the Rent Officers (Housing Benefit Functions) (Scotland) Order 1997

3

• (1) The Rent Officers (Housing Benefit Functions) (Scotland) Order 1997[^f00007] is amended as follows.

• (2) For paragraph (2B) of article 4B (broad rental market area determinations and local housing allowance determinations)[^f00008] substitute—

(2B) The date specified for the purposes of paragraph (2A) is the last working day of January.

• (3) Schedule 3B (broad rental market area determinations and local housing allowance determinations)[^f00009] is amended as follows—

• (a) For the table in sub-paragraph (9) of paragraph 2 (local housing allowance for category of dwelling in paragraph 1)[^f00010] substitute—

• (b) For the table in paragraph 6[^f00011] substitute the table in Schedule 2 to this Order.

Amendment to the Rent Officers (Universal Credit Functions) Order 2013

4

• (1) The Rent Officers (Universal Credit Functions) Order 2013[^f00012] is amended as follows.

• (2) In article 2 (interpretation)[^f00013] after the definition of “accommodation” insert—

• “assessment period” has the same meaning as in section 40 of the Welfare Reform Act.

• (3) For paragraph (2A) of article 4 (local housing allowance determinations)[^f00014] substitute—

(2A) The date specified for the purposes of paragraph (2) is the last working day of January.

• (4) For paragraph 3 of article 4 (local housing allowance determinations) substitute—

(3) Any local housing allowance determination made in accordance with paragraph 1 is to take effect— (a) on the next 6th April following the day on which the determination is made; or (b) in the case of existing claims— (i) on the next 6th April following the day on which the determination is made where that is the first day of the claimant’s assessment period; or (ii) where the next 6th April following the day on which the determination is made is not the first day of the claimant’s assessment period, on the first day of the next assessment period following that.

• (5) Schedule 1 (local housing allowance determinations)[^f00015] is amended as follows—

• (a) For the table in paragraph 4 (maximum local housing allowance)[^f00016] substitute—

• (6) For the table in paragraph 6[^f00017] substitute the table in Schedule 3 to this Order.

SCHEDULE 1 — Table to be substituted for the table in paragraph 6 of Schedule 3B to the Rent Officers (Housing Benefit Functions) Order 1997

SCHEDULE 2 — Table to be substituted for the table in paragraph 6 of Schedule 3B to the Rent Officers (Housing Benefit Functions) (Scotland) Order 1997

SCHEDULE 3 — Table to be substituted for the table in paragraph 6 of Schedule 1 to the Rent Officers (Universal Credit Functions) Order 2013

Signed

Signed by the authority of the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions

Freud — Parliamentary Under Secretary of State — Department for Work and Pensions — 24th November 2014

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Order)

EXPLANATORY NOTE

This Order amends the Rent Officers (Housing Benefit Functions) Order 1997 (S.I. 1997/1984), the Rent Officers (Housing Benefit Functions) (Scotland) Order 1997 (S.I. 1997/1995) and the Rent Officers (Universal Credit Functions) Order 2013 (S.I. 2013/382) to make changes to how and when the local housing allowance is determined.

Article 2 amends the Rent Officers (Housing Benefit Functions) Order 1997 to provide that Rent Officers must carry out the local housing allowance determinations on the last working day of January. It also inserts the new local housing allowance cap rates and the new targeted affordability funding rates into that Order.

Article 3 makes similar amendments to the Rent Officers (Housing Benefit Functions) (Scotland) Order 1997.

Article 4 makes similar amendments to the Rent Officers (Universal Credit Functions) Order 2013 and also amends this to change the day the new local housing allowance rate will take effect. Instead of taking effect on the next 7th April following the date the determination was made, it will take effect: on the next 6th April following the date of the determination; or, in the case of existing claimants, either the next 6th April following the day on which the determination is made where that is the first day of a claimant’s assessment period; or where that is not the case the first day of the claimant’s next assessment period following the 6th April.

A full impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as it has no impact on the private sector or civil society organisations.

Footnotes

[^f00001]: 1996 c. 52. Section 122(1) was amended by paragraph 36 of Schedule 2 to the Welfare Reform Act 2012 (c. 5).

[^f00002]: S.I. 1997/1984.

[^f00003]: Article 4B was inserted by S.I. 2003/2398. Paragraph 2B was inserted by S.I. 2013/1544.

[^f00004]: Schedule 3B was inserted by S.I. 2007/2871 and amended by S.I. 2013/2978. There are other amendments that are not relevant to this order.

[^f00005]: Paragraph 2 was substituted by S.I. 2013/2978.

[^f00006]: Paragraph 6 was inserted by S.I. 2013/2978.

[^f00007]: S.I. 1997/1995.

[^f00008]: Article 4B was inserted by S.I. 2003/2398. Paragraph 2B was inserted by S.I. 2013/1544.

[^f00009]: Schedule 3B was inserted by S.I. 2007/2871 and amended by S.I. 2013/2978. There are other amendments that are not relevant to this order.

[^f00010]: Paragraph 2 was substituted by S.I. 2013/2978.

[^f00011]: Paragraph 6 was inserted by S.I. 2013/2978.

[^f00012]: S.I. 2013/382.

[^f00013]: Article 2 was amended by S.I. 2013/1544.

[^f00014]: Article 4 was amended by S.I. 2013/1544 and S.I. 2013/2978.

[^f00015]: Schedule 1 was amended by S.I. 2013/1544 and S.I. 2013/2978.

[^f00016]: Paragraph 4 was substituted by S.I. 2013/2978.

[^f00017]: Paragraph 6 was inserted by S.I. 2013/2978.