Client is an owner occupier and she moved out of her home while essential repairs were carried out on her home(A). Client moved into temporary rented accommadation(B) and took on a tenancy for 6 months. Client is in receipt of Guaranteed Credit but does not receive help with her mortgage (this is another issue which I am dealing with).

Client applied for help with Rent and Council Tax on the temporary accommodation, Council Tax Benefit was awarded but Housing Benefit was not. The decision from HB was not to award HB under Regulation 5(4) stating 'that a person can claim HB for the home they are liable to make payments for while staying elsewhere on a temporary basis if their main home is undergoing essential repairs. These repairs must be essential to the dwelling being habitable and a person can only be liable for one dwelling and not both (ie either mortgage or rent). Therefore I am unable to award Housing Benefit for 'temp accommodation(B)' as you did not suspend mortgage payments on 'home(A)' while the refurbishment was being carried.'

Do you think that the above is correct and if so please could you explain why, I could understand if client was getting help with mortgage but in this case was not.

look forward to any views

thanks sarah

HBR 5(4) states:

Where a claimant has been required to move into temporary accommodation by reason of essential repairs being carried out to the dwelling normally occupied as his home, and is liable to make payments (including payments of mortgage interest or, in Scotland, payments under heritable securities or, in either case, analogous payments) in respect of either (but not both) the dwelling which he normally occupied as his home or the temporary accommodation, he shall be treated as occupying as his home the dwelling in respect of which he is liable to make payments.

The difficulty is that if the clmt is also making payments on property "A", irrespective of whether or not any form of IS is being paid towards it, HB cannot be paid on property "B". CPAG analysis echoes this. HBR 5(5)(d) <2-homes> specifically disallows HB where HBR 5(4) applies.

Regards

Just located a couple of CD references (both found in favour of the LA):

CH/0393/2002
CH/2817/2003

I don't think either of the above is on the Commissioners' web site, so I'll send copies to Rightsnet - the snag being that I won't be able to do this until at least next week.

Regards

Thanks for your help

regards sarah

http://www.rightsnet.org.uk/pdfs/CH_2817_2003.doc

http://www.rightsnet.org.uk/pdfs/CH_393_2002.doc