Housing Allowance Act 1988

1 Short title

2 Interpretation

3 Competent authority des ignated in Schedule

4 Government departments to co-operate

5 Person not eligible for award

6 Applications

7 Computation

8 Approval of applications

9 No obligation of competent authority

10 Discontinuing allowance

11 Allowance inalienable

12 Review

13 Recovery of overpayment

14 Inspectors

15 Furnishing information

16 Funds

17 Report

18 Regulations by Minister

19 Offences

SCHEDULE

[18 July 1988]

[preamble and words of enactment omitted]

Short title

1 This Act may be cited as the Housing Allowance Act 1988.

Interpretation

2 In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires —

"allowance" means a housing allowance awarded under this Act and Regulations made thereunder to a recipient and under the conditions specified in this Act and the Regulations made thereunder;

"application" means an application for an allowance;

"competent authority" means the body or person designated by section 3;

"dependent" means a person—

(a) who is under the age of eighteen years;

(b) who, under the age of twenty-five years is either receiv ing full-time instruction at an educational establishment or undergoing training for a trade, profession or vocation in such circumstances that he is required to devote the whole of his time to that training for a period of not less than two years; or

"disabled person" means a person who is suffering from mental or physical disablement such that he is either unable to work or virtually unable to do so or he is incapable of work;

"income" means —

(a) any income arising in respect of any remuneration from any office or employment of profit held by the individual including any income from any property which is at tached to or forms part of the emoluments of any office or employment of profit held by the individual, or in re spect of any pension, superannuation or other al lowance, deferred pay, compensation for loss of office, given in respect of the past services of the individual or of the spouse or parent of the individual in any office or employment or given to the individual in respect of past services of any deceased person whether the individual or spouse or parent of the individual has contributed to such pension, superannuation, allowance or deferred pay or not;

(b) any income in respect of dividends or interest;

(d) any income in respect of payments under an order of

any court;

(e) any income in respect of commission, gratuity, fee or bonus; or

(f) any income which is immediately derived by the individ ual from the carrying on or exercise by him of his trade profession or vocation either as an individual or, in the case of partnership, as a partner personally acting therein;

"landlord" means any person who is from time to time entitled to receive rent in respect of any premises and in relation to a particular tenant, means a person entitled to receive rent from such tenant;

"Minister" means the Minister charged with responsibility for Social Services;

"one-person premises" means premises the subject of a separate letting which are used wholly or primarily for human habita tion by one person;

"premises" means the subject matter of any tenancy;

"recipient" means a person to whom an allowance has been awarded;

"tenant" means a person who is in possession of premises the subject matter of a tenancy;

"tenancy" means a tenancy entered into orally or in writing and includes an agreement for a tenancy;

"two-person premises" means premises the subject of a separate letting which are used wholly or primarily for human habita tion by two persons.

(2) For the purposes of this Act, the word "work" in the con texts of "unable to work" or "incapable of work" means work which the person in question can reasonably be expected to do.

[Section 2 amended by BR 59/1995 effective 15 December 1995]

Competent authority designated in Schedule

3 (1) The authority specified in the Schedule is designated as the competent authority for the execution of this Act and has such powers and shall perform such functions as are assigned to the authority under this Act and the Regulations made thereunder including powers —

(a) to administer and control all moneys appropriated by the Legislature for the purposes of this Act and to advise generally on the management and administration of such moneys;

(b) to co-operate with government departments in adminis tering this Act;

(c) to pay at such times in accordance with this Act and the Regulations made thereunder such amounts in respect of allowances awarded to any recipient;

(d) to control generally all matters relating to the award of an allowance.

(2) The Minister may by order, which shall be subject to the negative resolution procedure, vary the Schedule by designating such other body or person to be the competent authority for the purposes of this Act.

Government departments to co-operate

4 Each government department shall co-operate with and shall provide such information as may be required by the competent authority in the administering of this Act.

Person not eligible for award

5 Where any or all of the following conditions exist a person is not eligible for the award of an allowance —

(a) at the date of the proposed commencement of an award to him no person who resides at the premises possess [sic] Bermudian status or belongs to Bermuda.

(b) the portion of the total income of all persons residing at the premises, exclusive of allowance, paid as rent is less than the affordable housing percentage specified or var ied by the Minister under section 7;

(c) the total income of all persons residing at the premises, exclusive of allowance, is more than the low-income cut off level specified or varied by the Minister under section 7;

(d) the premises are a one-person premises where the per son is not a disabled person, or is not over fifty-five years of age;

(e) the premises are a two-person premises where neither person is over fifty-five years old nor is a dependent;

(f) [deleted by 1989:61 effective 28 December 1989]

(g) [deleted by 1989:61 effective 28 December 1989]

[section 5 amended by 1989:61 effective 28 December 1989]

Applications

6 (1) Only one person who resides at the premises may apply to the competent authority for the award of an allowance and the applica tion shall be in relation to premises that are the subject of a separate letting and are used wholly or primarily for human habitation.

(2) The competent authority shall consider applications from persons in the manner prescribed by Regulations, and where satisfied that a person is properly and lawfully entitled to the award of an al lowance, under the conditions specified in this Act and the Regulations made thereunder, shall award the allowance to such person in the amount computed.

Computation

7 (1) The allowance to be awarded shall, subject to subsection (3), be the amount obtained from the application of the following formula:—

A = a (R-b I)

where—

A = housing allowance

a = allowable percentage

R = actual or maximum allowable rent, whichever is the lesser

b = affordable housing percentage

I = total income of all persons residing at the premises

(2) The Minister may by order, which shall be subject to the negative resolution procedure, specify or vary the allowable percentage, the maximum allowable rent, the affordable housing percentage and the low-income cutoff level.

(3) Notwithstanding subsection (1), where upon the application of the formula specified in subsection (1) the amount obtained is less than $25, then the allowance to be awarded shall be $25.

Approval of applications

8 Where the competent authority has approved an application, the authority shall inform the applicant of the amount of each payment that will be paid by the recipient and by the authority and of the manner and procedure relating to payments.

No obligation of competent authority

9 Subject to this Act and the Regulations made thereunder, the competent authority is under no obligation to any landlord for any pay ments in respect of the recipient or to any applicant or recipient in re spect of the payment of an allowance.

Discontinuing allowance

10 Where a recipient —

(a) fails to pay all rent due in respect of the premises for two consecutive periods; or

(b) transfers his residence to some other place,

the compe tent authority shall discontinue the payment of the al lowance and the award of the allowance shall be deemed to be revoked.

[Section 10(a) amended by 1993 : 56 effective 21 December 1993]

Allowance inalienable

11 No allowance payable under this Act or the Regulations made thereunder shall be subject to alienation or transfer by a recipient or to attachment or seizure in satisfaction of any claim against him.

Review

12 The competent authority may, on new facts being brought to its notice, or if the competent authority is satisfied that the decision was given in ignorance of, or was based on a misapprehension as to, some material fact, review any decision given by it in relation to the award of an allowance and upon review may reverse or vary any award.

Recovery of overpayment

13 (1) Where an allowance is or has been paid in pursuance of a decision which is reversed or varied on a review, then, subject to sub section (2) the decision given on the review shall require repayment to the competent authority of any allowance which was paid in pursuance of the original decision to the extent to which it —

(a) would not have been payable if the decision on the re view had been given in the first instance; and

(b) is not directed to be treated as paid on account of the allowance awarded by the decision on review, or as having been properly paid.

(2) A decision given on review shall not require repayment of allowance paid in pursuance of the original decision where it is shown to the satisfaction of the competent authority determining the review that in obtaining the award of an allowance the recipient, and any person acting for him, has throughout used due care and diligence to avoid overpay ment.

(3) Where any allowance is required to be repaid by a person to the competent authority under subsection (1), the competent authority may recover as a debt owing to it in any court of competent jurisdiction from the person such allowance.

Inspectors

14 (1) The competent authority may appoint such inspectors for the purposes of the execution of the Act.

(2) An inspector appointed under this section has the power —

(a) to enter premises to make such examination and en quiry as may be necessary for investigating the circum stances of an applicant, a recipient or other person re siding at the premises; and

(b) to examine, either alone or in the presence of any other person, as he thinks fit, the circumstances of an appli cant, a recipient or other person residing at the premises.

(3) The competent authority shall furnish an inspector with a certificate of his appointment and an inspector on applying for admission to any premises for the purposes of this Act shall if so required, produce the certificate.

Furnishing information

15 (1) Applicants or recipients shall furnish to the competent au thority all such information and produce for inspection all such docu ments as the competent authority may reasonably require for the pur pose of considering an application, of conducting enquiries or of review ing a decision.

(2) Applicants or recipients shall in writing authorise the com petent authority to obtain such information and such documents as the competent authority thinks necessary from landlords, banks, employers and other persons in order to consider an application, to conduct an en quiry or to review a decision.

Funds

16 Funds for the purposes of this Act shall be provided by the Leg islature and there shall be paid out of such funds —

(a) any administrative expenses of the competent authority in carrying this Act and the Regulations made thereun der into effect;

(b) any allowance required by this Act and the Regulations made thereunder to be paid.

Report

17 (1) At the end of each financial year or such shorter period as the competent authority thinks fit, the competent authority shall review the operation of this Act and after completing the review shall report to the Minister.

(2) The Minister shall as soon as possible lay a copy of the re port before the Legislature.

Regulations by Minister

18 (1) The Minister may make Regulations for carrying the pur poses and provisions of this Act into effect, and, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, may make Regulations providing for —

(a) the manner and form of making an application, the in formation and evidence to be submitted in connection therewith and the procedure to be followed in the con sideration of applications;

(b) the investigation into applications and into the eligibility of a person to receive an allowance, the reports to be

made and the information to be supplied by or in respect of applicants or recipients;

(d) the time at which, the payment of the allowance shall commence, the manner and the procedure for payment of the allowance to the landlord;

(e) the circumstances justifying or requiring the suspension of the payment of allowances and the resumption of payment;

(f) the recovery of the amount of allowance payments to which a recipient was not entitled under this Act or the Regulations made thereunder; or

(g) the creation of offences.

(2) Regulations made under this section shall be subject to the negative resolution procedure.

Offences

19 (1) If a person for the purpose of obtaining any benefit under this Act or Regulations made thereunder, whether for himself or some other person, or for any other purpose connected with this Act or Regu lations made thereunder —

(a) knowingly makes any false statement or false represen tation; or

(b) produces or furnishes, or causes or knowingly allows to be produced or furnished, any document or information which he knows to be false in a material particular,

he commits an offence:

Punishment on summary conviction: imprisonment for 3 months or a fine of $5,000 or both such fine and imprisonment.

(2) Where a person commits an offence against the Regulations made under this Act:

Punishment on summary conviction: imprisonment for 3 months or a fine of $5,000 or both such fine and imprisonment.

SCHEDULE (Section 3)

DEPARTMENT OF FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE

[Schedule amended by BR 53/1993 effective 1 April 1994]

[Amended by

Bermuda Consolidated Legislation

Housing Allowance Act 1988