Terms & Conditions

[fr140a]

I have a lady who has just told us that returned to her home after 15 weeks of staying with friends whilst she had essential repairs done. There is no dispute it was essential as she had no water, electric or kitchen and received grants for the work due to dampness casuing ill health.
Do the Reg 7 rules also about vacating due to essential repairs also apply to CTb or should I be looking at it under normal temporary abscence rules.

Thanks

[Anonymous]

Shouldn’t she get an exemption instead?

[fr140a]

They won’t give her an exemption because she still had some of her furniture in the property.

[Kevin D]

The HB regs on temp absence should be ignored for CTB – the structure is fundamentally different.

For CTB, the starting point is that for ANY day of absence, there is no CTB UNLESS the absence falls within a “period of temporary absence”.

In short, if the absence was likely to exceed 13 weeks from the outset, there can be no CTB. If the absence was likely to be 13 weeks or less from the outset (date “A”), but it became clear later (date “B”) that the absence would exceed 13 weeks in total, there is no entitlement from date “B”. Based on the info given, the 52-week provisions aren’t at issue.

There is no provision that expressly allows for essential repairs where CTB is concerned.

[fr140a]

Thanks Kevin – I thought that might be the case.

[Kay_Tade]

[quote=fr140a]They won’t give her an exemption because she still had some of her furniture in the property.[/quote]

Can they do that? If the property is uninhabitable then there is a 12 month exemption. I’m not sure what it’s called, class A?

[fr140a]

They seem pretty confident, a Senior Officer has looked at it and decided it doesn’t warrant one.

[Kay_Tade]

[quote=fr140a]There is no dispute it was essential as she had no water, electric or kitchen and received grants for the work due to dampness casuing ill health.[/quote] Well, I wouldn’t be that confident to say it was habitable. Can’t see how you can pay CTB so I suppose this will not be going away, one way or another.

[Author]

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