Procedure for claiming help with IS Housing Costs for claimant not entitled to IS until Housing Costs are included.

My client recieves IB at an amount which exceeds his IS applicable amount unless his Housing Costs are included in the assessment. He has been on IB and has had a mortgage for many years, but had not claimed IS until we helped him make a claim on 10 May. In the decision letter he was advised that he was not entitled to IS but that he might be entitled from 10/05/10 (I think they meant 10/08/10) when allowable mortgage interest can be added to his claim. The letter goes on to say that he would need to make another claim for IS before 09/08/10.
  Don’t they mean after 09/08/10? His waiting period will not be complete until 10 August so surely another IS claim made before that date would also fail.

Hi Peter-

I think that your client is entitled to have housing costs included within his IS applicable amount from day one of his claim and so the DWP are right to say he will be entitled from 10/5/10 although they seem to have mangled their wording somewhat!

Para 14(4) and (5)(a) of Sch 3 to the IS Regs (SI 1987 No 1967) mean he is treated as entitled to IS throughout the period when on IB etc if only reason not otherwise entitled to IS during that period is that his income was too high etc.

No claim is needed where the reason he comes within para (5)(a) is incapacity etc to start the waiting period running- a claim is only needed for people within (5A) - lone parents and carers etc.

See CJSA/4613/2001 which confirms no claim needed to start time running for the equivalent JSA provision.

I think needs to appeal the IS decision and just state that he is entitled to inclusion of housing costs within his applicable amount to IS from date of claim.