6.—(1) Regulation 12A of the Principal Regulations (requirement to refer to rent officers)(1) shall be amended in accordance with the following paragraphs.
(2) In paragraph (1), at the end, there shall be added a new sub-paragraph (c)—
“or
(c)except in the case where any liability to make payments in respect of a dwelling would be to a housing authority, a request from a person (“the prospective occupier”), on a properly completed form approved for the purpose by the appropriate authority, signifying that he is contemplating occupying a dwelling as his home and that if he does so, he is likely to claim housing benefit, but only where that form—
(i)is signed by the prospective occupier;
(ii)is countersigned by the person to whom the prospective occupier would incur liability to make such payments; and
(iii)indicates that the person countersigning agrees to the application being made for that determination.”.
(3) After paragraph (2), there shall be inserted a new paragraph (2A)—
“(2A) Where an appropriate authority receives a request pursuant to paragraph (1)(c) and it is a case where, by reason of paragraph (2), an application to a rent officer is not required, the authority shall—
(a)return it to the prospective occupier, indicating why no such application is required; and
(b)where it is not required by reason of either paragraph (2)(a) of this regulation or paragraph 2 of Schedule 1A(2) (cases where the rent officer has already made a determination), shall also send him a copy of that determination within 4 days of the receipt of that request by the authority.”.
(4) In paragraph (3), at the end, there shall be added the phrase—
“except that, in the case of a request to which paragraph (1)(c) applies, the application shall be made within 2 days of the receipt of that request by the authority.”.
(5) For paragraph (4) there shall be substituted—
“(4) For the purpose of calculating any period of days mentioned in paragraphs 2A or 3, no regard shall be had to a day on which the offices of the appropriate local authority are closed for the purposes of receiving or determining claims.”.
(6) In paragraph (8) the definition of “Housing Act functions” shall be omitted and, after the definition of “pre-commencement case”, there shall be inserted the following definition—
““prospective occupier” shall include a person currently in receipt of housing benefit in respect of a dwelling which he occupies as his home and who is contemplating entering into a new agreement to occupy that dwelling, but not in a case where his current agreement commenced less than 11 months before such a request;”.