An overpayment of a benefit happens when the benefit is paid to you which you are not entitled to.
There are several reasons why you may have received an overpayment of benefit.
Please do not rely on anyone else to tell us about any changes. You are required by law to tell us.
We will send you a letter telling you how much you owe, the period of the overpayment, and why you have been overpaid. You then have one month to contact us either to appeal against the decision or arrange to pay the money back.
We will either reduce the level of future benefit we pay you or send you an invoice. If your Housing Benefit was paid to your landlord, we may contact them to make arrangements for the money to be repaid. In turn, they may contact you to recover the money.
If you think your benefit is wrong or you disagree with the overpayment, please contact us as soon as possible.
If you have received an invoice for an overpayment of Housing Benefit and you will struggle to meet the instalments, please contact us straightaway. We may be able to reduce the instalments or agree on a suitable, alternative payment plan.
Failure to contact us about your invoice will result in further recovery action being taken.