An overpayment is an amount of benefit paid when there was no entitlement under the benefit regulations.
When an overpayment occurs a decision is made as to who will be responsible for repayment.
Where payment has been made to a landlord the rules allow for repayment to be sought from the landlord.
If it is decided to recover an overpayment from a landlord this can be done in the following ways:
- an invoice can be sent; or
- it can be deducted from benefit paid to a landlord on behalf of one or all other tenants. This may be in a lump sum or in smaller amounts.
If the second option is used it is important to remember that the tenant cannot be asked to make up the difference.
