25.—(1) Part IX of the Housing Benefit [F1(State Pension Credit)] Regulations(1) (claims) shall apply for the purposes of these Regulations as it applies for the purposes of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations with the following modifications—

(a)as if for “housing benefit”, wherever it occurs, there were substituted “rate relief”;

(b)as if for “benefit week”, wherever it occurs, there were substituted “rate relief week”;

(c)as if for “dwelling”, wherever it occurs, there were substituted “hereditament”;

[F2(d)as if in regulation 62—

(i)in paragraphs (5B) to (5G) for “the Department” there were substituted “the Department for Social Development”;

F3(ii). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(iii)in paragraph (11) for “award benefit” there were substituted “award rate relief”;]

(e)as if in regulation 62A after “Schedule 10” there were inserted “to the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 25”;

(f)as if in regulation 63—

(i)in paragraph (1) after “Schedule A1 (treatment of claims for housing benefit by refugees)” there were inserted “to the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 11”;

(ii)in paragraph 3(a) and (b) after “regulation 65” there were inserted “ of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations as applied with modification for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 25”;

(iii)in paragraph (4)(a)(i) and (b) after “Housing Benefit Regulations” and “those Regulations” there were inserted “as applied with modifications for the purposes of the Rate Relief (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2007 by regulation 19 of those Regulations”;

(iv)in paragraph (4)(c) after “or (c)” there were inserted “of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 21”;

(g)as if—

[F4(i)in regulation 64(2) and (5) after “regulation 62”;]

(ii)in regulation 65(1)(a) after “regulation 62”;

(iii)in regulation 65A after “regulation 65”,

there were inserted “of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 25;”;

[F5(gg)as if in regulation 65(5)(b) for “£16,000” there were substituted “£50,000”;]

(h)as if in regulation 65(5)(c)—

(i)in head (i) after “regulation 22”;

(ii)in head (ii) after “regulation 25(4)(e)”,

there were inserted “ of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations as applied with modification for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 19”;

(i)as if in regulation 65A after “Schedule 10” there were inserted “to the Housing Benefit Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 25”.

(2) Schedule 10 to the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations(2) (electronic communication) shall apply for the purposes of these Regulations as it applies for the purposes of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations with the following modification as if in paragraph 2(1) for “housing benefit” there were substituted “rate relief”.

Making a claim for rate reliefN.I.

26.  Subject to regulation 25(2), every claim for rate relief shall be made in writing on a form approved by the Department for the purpose of rate relief, or in such other manner, being in writing, as the Department may accept as sufficient in the circumstances of any particular case.

Claims in advance for rate reliefN.I.

27.  Where a claim is received by a relevant authority prior to 1st April 2007 it shall be treated as having been made on 1st April 2007.

Entitlement dependent on claimN.I.

28.  Entitlement to a payment of rate relief shall be dependent upon a claim for rate relief being made in accordance with the provisions of these Regulations.