The Housing Benefit (Subsidy) Order 1990

Overpayment of rebates or allowances

11.—(1) Where any part of an authority’s qualifying expenditure is attributable to an overpayment of rebates or allowances made and discovered in the relevant year, for the purposes of article 3(1)(b), the appropriate amount for the year in respect of such part shall be calculated in accordance with paragraph (2).

(2) Subject to paragraph (3), the appropriate amount shall be–

(a)in the case of an overpayment caused by an error of the authority making the payment, 15 per cent. of the qualifying expenditure attributable to the overpayment; and

(b)in the case of an overpayment caused by official error, 97 per cent. of so much of the qualifying expenditure attributable to the overpayment as has not been recovered by the authority; and

(c)in the case of any other overpayment, 30 per cent. of the qualifying expenditure attributable to the overpayment.

(3) In paragraph 2(b) “overpayment caused by official error” means an overpayment caused by a mistake made or something done or omitted to be done by an officer of the Department of Social Security or the Department of Employment, acting as such, or a decision of an adjudication officer appointed in accordance with section 97(1) of the Social Security Act 1975(1) where the claimant, a person acting on his behalf or any other person to whom the payment is made did not cause or materially contribute to that mistake, act or omission.

(4) This article shall not apply in a case to which paragraph (15) of regulation 72 of the Regulations or, as the case may be, paragraph (18) of regulation 59 of the Scottish Regulations (time and manner in which claims are to be made) applies.