Rates assistance for Universal Credit claimants

Universal Credit will be introduced in Northern Ireland on 27 September. People who are claiming Universal Credit will have to make a separate application for help with their rates. This assistance will be made available under a new “rates rebate” scheme, administered by Land and Property Services and accessed through NI Direct.

The particulars of the new system are laid out in The Rate Relief Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2017, which come into operation on 27 September 2017.

What is rates rebate?

The rates rebate scheme will only be available to those in receipt of Universal Credit who have liability to pay rates. Eligible claimants will have to apply online for this financial assistance. Claimants will have to set up an account, distinct from their Universal Credit account via the NI Direct website. The application process itself is quite simple, but Land & Property Services has advised that telephone assistance will be available for any household who struggles with the online application system.

Certain types of supported accommodation, including homeless hostels, is excluded from Universal Credit. While residents of this type of accommodation may have a live Universal Credit claim, they will also need to apply for Housing Benefit to help with their housing costs. These people will not be able to apply for rates rebate, but assistance with rates payments on their accommodation will be delivered through Housing Benefit.

The rates rebate system will be available to Universal Credit claimants who own or rent their accommodation.

How much assistance is available?

The amount of assistance that a person will get with their rates depends largely on two things

• How much that person’s share of the eligible rates for the property is and
• How much income the person is classed as having.

A person’s liability for rates will generally be taken to be the full rates liability for that period. However, where the applicant is a joint tenant their liability will usually be apportioned. In cases where a couple has a joint tenancy, the Department for Finance has advised that only one application for rates rebate need be submitted and that the claim will be in respect of the full rates liability for the tenancy.

Under Universal Credit, claimants are entitled to a maximum award of assistance, based on their individual circumstances. Certain elements of the claimant’s income are then deducted from this maximum award in order to arrive at the actual Universal Credit payment. This income is also relevant in calculating how much rates rebate an individual will receive, although the calculations used by Universal Credit and Land & Property Services differ slightly. Where the total income for rates purposes is less than the claimant’s maximum award or Universal Credit, the claimant will receive assistance with 100% of their rates liability for the period.

Where a claimant’s income is higher than their maximum Universal Credit award, a 15% tariff is applied to work out how much assistance with rates the claimant will receive.

Private tenants

Private tenants will have to verify their liability for rates. These tenants will also have had to undergo a separate housing costs verification procedure as part of their Universal Credit claim, but different information is required for each process. While tenants will be required to bring a tenancy agreement or letter from their landlord to the social security office in order to verify their housing costs for Universal Credit, the claimant’s landlord will have to complete an online certificate of occupation before rates rebate can be paid.

When a private tenant submits a claim for rates rebate, they must provide their landlord’s email address. The system will then email the landlord asking him or her to complete the certificate of occupation. Landlords must create their own rates rebate account online in order to complete the certificate to verify the tenant's claim. Only once this certificate has been completed, can the rates claim be calculated and paid. Landlords should, at this stage, ensure that they have provided their tenants with a valid and up to date email address. Landlords are already required to provide this information to tenants under the Tenancy Deposit Protection Schemes Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2012. 

Backdating

A claim for rates rebate cannot be made until the claimant’s Universal Credit is in payment. For this reason, claimants will have up to three months from the date on which their entitlement to Universal Credit begins in which to make a claim for rates rebate. Obviously, it will be in the claimant’s interest to make the claim as quickly as possible, in order to minimise the risk of any arrears accruing to their landlord or to Land & Property Services.

Read more about the new rates rebate on NI Direct.

Get prepared for the housing impact of Universal Credit

On the 9th November we have an essential half day overview that will ensure you are prepared for all the key housing impacts of Universal Credit as they unfold.