Terms & Conditions

[Anonymous]

Can anybody offer some advice please…

I’m sure most of us have come across this but I cannot remember what we do –

Rent Service determination made 20 May 2005, lasts for 52 weeks (no changes during this time), due for 52 week renewal on 19 May 2006 but we forget to send it to the RS. We then notice that the claimants rent will increase on 1 July 2006 (not contractual). Can we purposely delay sending the referral until 1 July 2006 at the new rent to get round the problem of the claimant having to wait until May 2007. This will also synchronise the annual rent increase in July.

Cheers

[jmembery]

This is a difficult one.
Under the Regs 14(1)(f) or 14(1)(g) you have to refer as soon as the 52 weeks have elapsed.

[u:3d746b5e2b]For subsidy purposes [/u:3d746b5e2b]you will escape penalty as long as the referral is done within the relevant financial year (or soon after), so I can understand it is tempting to delay the referral.

However, I agree with a post by another HBINFO member (I think it was KevinD) that LAs can’t pick and choose when to apply the law, if the law is beneficial to the claimant, you apply the law, and when the law is not beneficial to the claimant you apply the law.

[Author]

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