Hi Mike
I’ve had a couple of cases recently where clients have made claims for Housing Benefit and the local council says that they can’t process them because the claimant can’t provide a NI Number
In the first one, Hannah (45) escaped to a women’s refuge with only a small bag of clothes. She doesn’t know her NI Number.
In the second case Ajay (72) made a claim for Housing Benefit for the home that he shares with his wife Yamini (56). Ajay is a British citizen. Yamini has got limited leave that has a no-recourse-to-public-funds restriction. Ajay has got a NI number buy Yamini hasn’t. Her solicitor has told her that she can’t apply for one because she isn’t working.
Is there a way of dealing with these problems?
Thank you
Christina
Hiya Christina
To claim Housing Benefit you must meet the National Insurance Number Requirement by:
- Providing your NI number, or
- Providing enough information to track down your NI number, or
- Making an application for a National Insurance Number
If you’re feeling nerdish, the NI Number requirement comes from Section 1 of the Social Security Administration Act 1992
Hannah
Arguably Hannah has already met this requirement because an NI number should be track-down-able from her name and date of birth.
However there is an even more straightforward way of getting round this problem.
Regulation 4 of the Housing Benefit Regulations says that you do not have to meet the NI Number Requirement if you live in a hostel.
Since her refuge accommodation comes within the legal definition of a hostel the NI number requirement doesn’t apply to her.
Hopefully if you point this out to the council they will sort out her claim.
Yamini and Ajay
Yamini and Ajay are what the benefits system calls a mixed-age-couple because Yamini is under pension age and Ajay is over pension age.
Before May 2019 the older member of a mixed age couple could claim Pension Credit and/or Housing Benefit for both of them.
Since May 2019 the younger member of a mixed age couple must usually claim Universal Credit for both.
But, because Yamini has limited leave with a public-funds restriction she counts as a person subject to immigration control, and she is excluded from claiming Universal Credit.
A special rule to deal with this situation allows Ajay to claim Housing Benefit as a single person. And because he is claiming as a single person the NI Number requirement does not apply to Yamini.
The DWP has issued guidance for Housing Benefit departments to explain this rule in in paragraphs 15-17 of the HB circular A9/2019.
Hopefully, if you point this out to the council they will sort out the claim.
Hopefully this tells you what you need to know, but get back to me if you need more
🙂
Mike