Overpayment of Housing Benefit and Council Tax Reduction
Overpayment of Housing Benefit and Council Tax Reduction
- What is an overpayment?
The amount of Housing Benefit / Council Tax Reduction you receive is based on the information you provide when you make your application for benefit.
If you or your landlord are paid an amount of Housing Benefit and you are paid an amount of Council Tax Reduction that you were not entitled to receive, this results in an Overpayment.
- Why do overpayments happen?
If you have a change of circumstances then your award of benefit may change. If you do not tell us of any change immediately then you may be awarded too much Housing Benefit/Council Tax Reduction. A few examples are:
- You have forgotten to tell us that your income has increased, for example you have had a pay rise, tax credit award changes;
- Somebody moves in or out of your home;
- You have moved out of your home and not told us;
- You have started work or changed jobs;
- Other adults who live with you have had a change in their circumstances.
- How will I know if I have an overpayment?
Housing Benefit:
- If you have been overpaid Housing Benefit, we will write to you advising of the reason, the amount, the period the overpayment covers and how it has been calculated. You will also be advised of how we intend to recover the overpayment.
- If you are still in receipt of Housing Benefit, we will reduce the amount of your benefit each week to recover the overpayment.
- If you are not getting Housing Benefit, we will send you an invoice if you received the money and you should make arrangements to pay us. If you are a local authority tenant, we will create an overpayment account on your rent account.
- If you have moved out of the area, we can take money from any Housing Benefit paid to you by another council.
- We can ask the Department for Work and Pensions to take money out of your social security benefits to collect the overpayment.
If you do not agree with the decision to recover an overpayment, you can request that we look at the decision again. Please refer to our page entitled Appeals.