Terms & Conditions

[Martin Giles]

Following an incident have a number of people forced to leave their homes as they are currently deemed unsafe to occupy. Some are going to stay with relatives friends etc but are concerned as to the imposition of non dependant deductions. In the short term I am considering no deduction as the non deps normal home is elsewhere however for how long would this be appropriate as it is now being discussed that some properties may be unsafe for up to 6 months !!There is an added matter that their properties may be made Council Tax exempt whilst they cannot live in them so is it correct to deem their normal home elsewhere for benefits when they are not even liable ? Would be grateful for your thoughts

[Andreas]

IMHO.

If those same people were to live in other ‘temporary accommodation’ while repairs were taking place they could qualify for HB under reg 7(4)… if they would otherwise qualify for HB elsewhere doesn’t it follow that they must be in ‘temporary accommodation’ whilst living with a friend/relative?

Not sure about the CTB but wouldn’t the friend/relative already be liable anyway?… and why should an exemption on the ‘normal home’ effect the ‘temporary’ nature of their occupancy in ‘temporary accommodation’?

[Anonymous]

Check out pages 54-55 from the shelter 2010-11 guide (zebedee & ward)in my opinion they do not normally reside with the relatives/friends so they do not meet the definition of non-dep & I would not be including them on any potential relative / friends HB/CTB cases.

I am no expert though!

Also ctaxs opinion on sole & main residence may well be different to the definition of normally reside!

Benefits – so straightforward!!! :bigsmile:

[Author]

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