Commentary on provisions of Act Section 18: Loans for mortgage interest etc.
This section enables owner-occupiers who are receiving an income-related benefit to claim help towards their liability to make owner-occupier payments by way of a loan.
	Subsection (1) specifies that the Secretary of State ma, by regulations, provide for loans to be made in respect of a person’s liability to make owner-occupier payments in respect of accommodation that they occupy as their home.
	Subsections (2) and (3) enable the Secretary of State to specify in the regulations the conditions that will govern eligibility to receive a loan which may, in particular, include that a claimant is entitled to receive jobseeker's allowance, income support, employment and support allowance, state pension credit or universal credit.
	Subsections (4) to (7) enable the Secretary of State to set out further detail about the loans scheme in regulations including: provision about the liabilities in respect of which a loan can be made; the method for calculating the amount of loan which can be made; and that the loan will be secured by a charge over land.
	Subsection (8) provides that the term "owner-occupier payments" will be defined in regulations. This definition will make provision about mortgage interest payments and payments under alternative finance arrangements.
	Subsections (10) and (11) provides that the regulations must be made by statutory instrument subject to the negative procedure.