Housing Systems: Combating poverty and sustaining tenancies.
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Housing Benefit Overpayments
  
A Housing Benefit overpayment occurs when the claimant has received more HB than they were entitled to. HB Offices tend to try to recover all overpayments - although there are many situations when they shouldn't and they often send an invoice to the landlord in cases where the claimant should be the one to repay it.

Click on the links below to find out more and how to minimise the impact of HB overpayments on rent accounts.

Note that Housing Benefit overpayments can be taken from Universal Credit when the claimant moves onto it. Click here.
Although 'duplicate' HB is treated as unearned income for UC.  Click here.

Good Practice

What should a landlord do when notified of an overpayment?

Reducing impact

Ideas to minimise the impact of overpayments on the claimant's rent account.

Claimed UC?

What about a HB Overpayment due to claiming UC?


Is it an Overpayment?

Check that there has been an overpayment.

Why Overpaid?

Try to work out why there has been an overpayment.

How Much?

Check that the amount is correct.


Is it Recoverable?

It is actually recoverable?

Recovered From?

Who can it be recovered from?

How Recovered?

How can it be recovered?

Notification

Who should be notified?

Start of Recovery

When should recovery start?

Challenging Decisions

Challenging an overpayment decision.

Fraud

What if caused by fraud?

Case Law

What case law might help?

Recent queries

Recent queries.

Standard Letters

What case law might help?