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Overpayments - Housing benefit
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Overpayments - Housing benefit
What is an overpayment - how does it happen?
An overpayment of Housing Benefit is when we are paying you
Housing Benefit that you are no longer entitled to (usually because
we have not been told about a change of circumstances).
Once you have let us know your change in circumstances we will
write to you with the amount that needs to be
paid.
You will then have one month to appeal against this
amount. If you do not appeal within one month then we will
send you another letter describing how you will need to pay the
amount.
Do I have to pay back the overpayment?
Yes. If you fail to tell us of a change in your or someone in
your household's circumstances, or, you did tell us but continued
to receive benefit you knew you were not entitled to, we will
recover the overpayment.
Who has to pay the overpayment back?
An overpayment can be recovered from the person who claimed
benefit, or, from the person who received the payment.
This means that, if your rent was paid direct to a Landlord or
Agent, and they could reasonably be expected to realise that they
were being overpaid i.e. you have vacated the property or rental
liability decreased, we can consider recovering it from them.
Failure to repay the overpayment may result in Court action
being taken.
How will the Council collect the money?
If you are still getting Housing Benefit, we will make
deductions from the amount we send you/your landlord until the
overpayment is fully paid back. You will need to make up the
difference to your landlord.
If you are no longer getting Housing Benefit, we will send you
an invoice for any remaining amount of the overpayment.
The invoice will tell you how/where to pay the money back.
Please note: Council Tax benefit
overpayments are collected and billed separately, please
contact the Council Tax Billing
section for further information.
If you are getting certain other benefits from the Department of
Work & Pensions, for example Job Seeker's Allowance, we
may be able to apply to have deductions taken from your
payments you are currently receiving, to pay the invoice; however
this option is not available if you are already having deductions
made for other benefits.
If you are a Landlord or Agent getting Housing Benefit for other
tenants, we can deduct the amount you owe from the payment we send
you.
What are my rights?
You will receive a letter telling you how the overpayment
happened and how much you need to pay back. If you do not agree
with the amount of the overpayment, you can ask for a written
explanation of how it was worked out.
You have the right to appeal if you disagree with the Council's
decision. You must appeal in writing and within one calendar month
of the date of the letter telling you about the overpayment.
Appeal against the overpayment
To appeal against an overpayment you need to write to us
providing the reason for your appeal. You have one month from
the date on your 'over payments letter' to appeal. We
will assess your appeal and advise accordingly.
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