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Overpayment of Housing & Council Tax Benefit occurs when benefits have been paid where there is no entitlement. For example, an overpayment could be made where a claimant's income increases or where they fail to notify us of their change of circumstances.
However, a fradulent overpayment is also possible where a claimant deliberately fails to notify us of a change of circumstances that they know will affect their benefit entitlement.
Please browse the following pages for more information about overpayments of benefit:
For all other enquiries, please contact our Housing Benefits department at the Civic Centre on (0115) 901 3970 or email housingbenefits@gedling.gov.uk
We have a duty to recover overpayments from tenants and landlords, as well as enforcing overpayment rules and regulations laid down in various legislation.
Overpayments may be recovered from either the person who caused the overpayment or the person who received the overpayment.
Please note that we may decide to take criminal proceedings in respect of fraudulent overpayments, although the recovery of overpayments will not prejudice any criminal proceedings we initiate in respect of fraudulent overpayments.
An overpayment is generally recovered from whoever receives the payment of benefit. However, each case is individually considered as to why the overpayment occurred.
Even where payments are made directly to the landlord, we can recover overpayments from the claimant where we feel the landlord would not have known an overpayment was being made. For more information, please visit our Overpayments page.
For tenants in receipt of Housing Benefit, overpayments will be recovered from future benefit payments by weekly deductions known as the 'weekly reclaim'.
Overpayments to tenants in receipt of Council Tax Benefit, however, will be recovered by adjustment to the taxpayer's Council Tax account.
For tenants no longer in receipt of Housing & Council Tax Benefit, overpayments will be recovered by issuing an invoice for repayment.
An invoice for payment will be issued where we decide to recover an overpayment from the landlord.
Where benefit payments are made direct to the landlord, this amount will be reduced leaving the tenant responsible for any rent arrears caused by 'weekly reclaim' deductions.
Benefit claimants can ask for a decision to calculate an overpayment to be reviewed providing the request is made within one month of the decision notice. Please visit our Appeals page for more information about the appeals process.
Where invoices remain unpaid or arrangements to repay the debt over time are not met, we may pass the outstanding debt to a debt collection agency. If the debt remains unpaid we may take action in the County Court.
Please see the following documents for more information about our Overpayments Policy:
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