The Housing Benefit Regulations 2006

Person from whom recovery may be sought

101.—(1) For the purposes of section 75(3)(a) of the Administration Act(1) (prescribed circumstances in which an amount recoverable shall not be recovered from the person to whom it was paid), the prescribed circumstance is—

(a) housing benefit has been paid in accordance with regulation 95 (circumstances in which payment is to be made to the landlord) or regulation 96 (circumstances in which payment may be made to a landlord);

(b) the landlord has notified the relevant authority or the Secretary of State in writing that he suspects that there has been an overpayment;

(c) it appears to the relevant authority that, on the assumption that there has been an overpayment—

(i) there are grounds for instituting proceedings against any person for an offence under section 111A or 112(1) of the Administration Act(2) (dishonest or false representations for obtaining benefit); or

(ii) there has been a deliberate failure to report a relevant change of circumstances contrary to the requirement of regulation 88 (duty to notify a change of circumstances) and the overpayment occurred as a result of that deliberate failure; and

(d) the relevant authority is satisfied that the landlord—

(i) has not colluded with the claimant so as to cause the overpayment;

(ii) has not acted, or neglected to act, in such a way so as to contribute to the period, or the amount, of the overpayment.

(2) For the purposes of section 75(3)(b) of the Administration Act (recovery from such other person, as well as or instead of the person to whom the overpayment was made), the prescribed person is—

(a) in a case where the overpayment arose as a consequence of a misrepresentation or failure to disclose a material fact (in either case, whether fraudulently or otherwise) by or on behalf of the claimant or any other person to whom housing benefit has been paid, the person who misrepresented or failed to disclose that material fact;

(b) in a case where a recoverable overpayment is made to a claimant who has one or more partners, the claimant’s partner or any of his partners;

(c) the claimant.

(3) For the purposes of paragraph (1), “landlord” shall have the same meaning as it has for the purposes of regulation 95.

(4) For the purposes of paragraph (2)(b), recovery of the overpayment may be by deduction from any housing benefit payable to a partner provided that the claimant and that partner were members of the same household both at the time of the overpayment and when the deduction is made.

(1)

Subsection (3) was substituted by the Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Act 2000 (c. 19), section 71.

(2)

Section 111A was inserted by the Social Security Administration (Fraud) Act 1997 (c. 47), section 13; section 112(1) was amended by paragraph 4(2) of Schedule 1 to the same Act, by the Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Act 2000, section 67 and Schedule 6, paragraph 6