HB Entitlement Start Date

I have a client who submitted a claim for HB on the day that their brand new assured tenancy started. As expected, their HB entitlement only begins the following Monday, leaving her with a week’s rent arrears.

I’d always just accepted that this is the way HB works but decided to look at the HB regs to double check - this is what I found (from reg 76 HB Regs 2006) :

“Date on which entitlement is to commence

76.  (1)  Subject to paragraph (2), a person who makes a claim and is otherwise entitled to housing benefit shall be entitled to that benefit from the benefit week following the date on which his claim is or is treated as made.

(2) Where a claimant is otherwise entitled to housing benefit and becomes liable, for the first time, to make payments in respect of the dwelling which he occupies as his home in the benefit week in which his claim is or is treated as made, he shall be so entitled from that benefit week.”

Given that its a new tenancy, the way I’m reading it makes me think paragraph 2 should apply. Am I missing something or just being thick?

If the person was actually occupying the property at that point as well, then yes.  It is not enough for them to claim in the week the tenancy starts if they haven’t actually moved in.

My view on this differs from andyrichards (with respect of course) -

all that HB Reg 76(2) does is to provide that where he becomes liable to make payments, and occupies the dwelling as his home IN THE SAME BENEFIT WEEK then he is entitled from that benefit week - in this case the same day liability began - in other words;

If he becomes liable for the first time;
makes the new claim (to comply with Reg 80);
moves in within that benefit week;
HB begins from the same day liability began.

Its typically known as the   “week- one -yes- rule”

Reported Decisions R(H) 9/07 para 21 & 22 might also help - also R(H) 4/04

Yes that’s fair enough. I’d go along with that.

I know this is an old thread, but I’m hoping someone can clarify two things for me…

1. If a tenant moves into a property on the same day that liability begins, doesn’t apply for HB for a couple of weeks but asks for backdating, will HB be backdated to the day that liability began or the first Monday after the week that liability began?

2. If a tenancy starts on a Tuesday (and the HB claim is submitted the day before this), but the tenant doesn’t move in until Thursday, will HB be paid from the Tuesday, the Thursday or the following Monday?

Thanks, and Happy New Year :)

If the claim is backdated, it will behave in the same way as if the claim was actually made at that earlier time.  So in your first example, HB should be awarded from the first day of the tenancy ... subject to the answer to your second query which is that HB is only payable for days on which the claimant actually occupies the dwelling: from Thursday in your example.  This was established by the UT in August in decision CSH/969/2013

Thanks!