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Welfare Reform

What is Support for Mortgage Interest?

13 June 2017

Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) is the collective name given to the financial help with mortgage interest payments which can be made to certain benefit claimants.  SMI can also help with the costs of certain loans secured on a property. 

SMI can be claimed by people who are in receipt of

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Benefits, Repossession, Welfare Reform, Affordability

Future changes to Support for Mortgage Interest

9 June 2017

On 18th June, the rate of Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) will fall from 3.12% to 2.61%. This could have significant impacts on the ability of SMI recipients to stay in their homes.

However, this isn’t the only change on the way for Support for Mortgage Interest. Over the next few years there will be more changes that will further restrict and alter this benefit.

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Benefits, Welfare Reform, Affordability

Bedroom Tax can be disapplied by First-Tier Tribunal in England

4 May 2017

Back in November, we brought you news of two successful challenges to the “Bedroom Tax” size criteria policy in the UK Supreme Court. The success of these challenges resulted in new regulations, which expanded the circumstances in which a household is permitted an “additional” bedroom.

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Benefits, Welfare Reform, Case law

Regulations extend two-child limit to Housing Benefit in Northern Ireland

25 April 2017

Recent legislation limited Child Tax Credit for households with more than two children, where one or more of these children has been born on or after 6th April 2017. This means that a family with three children, where two of the three were born before 6th April 2017, and one child was born after this date, will only receive tax credits in respect of the oldest two children.

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Benefits, Legislation, Welfare Reform, Affordability

Recommendations to improve Universal Credit

20 April 2017

Two research papers, recently published by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) and Cardiff Metropolitan University, put forward recommendations to improve the Universal Credit (UC) system.

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Research, Welfare Reform, Affordability

Latest updates to Housing Law in Practice NI

19 April 2017

A number of changes occur in April of each year which impact on Housing Benefit calculations for the coming year. These include

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Practical tips, Welfare Reform

Changes to Housing Benefit in wake of Supreme Court ruling

4 April 2017

New Regulations have been passed, coming into effect on 20th April 2017, which expand the circumstances in which a household is permitted an “additional” room by Housing Benefit rules. These changes apply to both the social and private rented sectors.

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Benefits, Social Tenancies, Private Tenancies, Welfare Reform

Removal of housing costs for some 18-21 year olds

7 March 2017

The Government’s removal of Universal Credit housing costs from some 18-21 year olds has garnered a lot of media attention. Policy Officer Stephen Orme looks at what these changes mean.

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Benefits, Welfare Reform, Affordability

Bedroom tax in Northern Ireland

7 March 2017

Regulations allowing for the introduction of the “social sector size criteria” or the “bedroom tax” in Northern Ireland took effect on the 20 February.  As we’ve previously reported, the impact of this change in Northern Ireland is largely mitigated, with the only threat of an actual financial detriment as a result of the change being to some social tenants who trans

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Benefits, Social Tenancies, Private Tenancies, Practical tips, Welfare Reform, Affordability

What is “Bedroom Tax” and how will the mitigations work?

20 January 2017

On Monday 16th January, the mitigations for the Social Sector Size Criteria (“bedroom tax”) were approved by the Assembly. Here we look in detail at what the “bedroom tax” policy is, and how the mitigations will work in practice.

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Benefits, Social Tenancies, Welfare Reform, Affordability

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