The Housing Benefit (Persons who have attained the qualifying age for state pension credit) Regulations 2006

Method of recovery

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83.—(1) Without prejudice to any other method of recovery, [F1a relevant authority] may recover a recoverable overpayment from any person referred to in regulation 82 (persons from whom recovery may be sought) by deduction from any housing benefit to which that person is entitled (including arrears of entitlement after offsetting under regulation 79 (offsetting)) or, where it is unable to do so, may request the Secretary of State to recover any recoverable overpayment from the benefits prescribed in [F2regulation 86(1)] (recovery of overpayments from prescribed benefits).

[F3(1ZA) Where an overpayment is recoverable from a claimant who has one or more partners, a relevant authority may recover the overpayment by deduction from any housing benefit payable to the claimant’s partner, or where it is unable to do so, may request the Secretary of State to recover any recoverable overpayment from the benefits prescribed in regulation 86(1B) (recovery of overpayments from prescribed benefits), provided that the claimant and that partner were a couple both at the time of the overpayment and when the deduction is made.]

[F4(1A) Where—

(a)a claimant has moved into a dwelling which he occupies as his home;

(b)a recoverable overpayment of housing benefit is thereafter made direct to him in connection with the dwelling he occupied as his home immediately preceding the date he moved to that dwelling; and

(c)the same relevant authority which made the recoverable overpayment is paying housing benefit to that claimant in respect of that new dwelling,

the relevant authority may at its discretion deduct from the housing benefit it is paying to the claimant in respect of a benefit week an amount equal to the claimant’s weekly entitlement to housing benefit at his new dwelling, and may do so for the number of benefit weeks equal to the number of weeks during which the claimant was overpaid housing benefit.]

(2) Subject to paragraphs [F5(1A),] (4) and (5), where [F1a relevant authority] makes deductions permitted by paragraph (1) [F6or (1ZA)] from the housing benefit it is paying to a claimant [F7or a claimant’s partner] (other than deductions from arrears of entitlement), the deduction in respect of a benefit week shall be—

(a)in a case to which paragraph (3) applies, not more than the amount there specified; and

(b)in any other case, not more than 3 times five per cent. of the personal allowance for a single claimant aged not less than 25, that five per cent. being, where it is not a multiple of five pence, rounded to the next higher such multiple.

(3) Where [F8a relevant authority] makes deductions from housing benefit it is paying to a claimant [F9or a claimant’s partner, where the claimant has] , in respect of the whole or part of the recoverable overpayment—

(a)been found guilty of an offence whether under a statute or otherwise;

(b)made an admission after caution of deception or fraud for the purpose of obtaining relevant benefit; or

(c)agreed to pay a penalty under section 115A of the Administration Act F10 and the agreement has not been withdrawn,

the amount deducted under paragraph (2) shall be not more than four times five per cent. of the personal allowance for a single claimant aged not less than 25, but where that five per cent. is not a multiple of 10 pence, it shall be rounded to the nearest 10 pence or, if it is a multiple of 5 pence but not of 10 pence, the next higher multiple of 10 pence.

(4) Where, in the calculation of housing benefit, the amount of earnings or other income falling to be taken into account is reduced by reason of [F11paragraphs 2 to 5 and 7] of Schedule 4 (sums to be disregarded in the calculation of earnings) or paragraph 1 of Schedule 5 (sums to be disregarded in the calculation of income other than earnings), the deduction under paragraph (2) may be increased by not more than half the amount of the reduction.

(5) No deduction made under this regulation [F12, except as made under paragraph (1A),] shall be applied so as to reduce the housing benefit in respect of a benefit week to less than 50 pence.

(6) In this regulation—

“admission after caution” means—

(i)

in England and Wales, an admission after a caution has been administered in accordance with a Code issued under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 F13;

(ii)

in Scotland, admission after a caution has been administered, such admission being duly witnessed by two persons; and

“personal allowance for a single claimant aged not less than 25” means the amount specified in paragraph 1(1)(b) of column 2 of Schedule 3 to the Housing Benefit Regulations 2006 (applicable amounts).

(7) This regulation shall not apply in respect of an offence committed or an admission after caution or an agreement to pay a penalty made before 2nd October 2000.

Textual Amendments

F1Words in reg. 83(1)(2) substituted by SI 2005/2904 reg. 7(2) (as amended) (10.4.2006) by The Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit (Consequential Provisions) Regulations 2006 (S.I. 2006/217), reg. 1(1), Sch. 2 para. 29(8)(b) (with regs. 2, 3, Sch. 3, Sch. 4)

F8Words in reg. 83(3) substituted by SI 2005/2904 reg. 7(2) (as amended) (10.4.2006) by The Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit (Consequential Provisions) Regulations 2006 (S.I. 2006/217), reg. 1(1), Sch. 2 para. 29(8)(b) (with regs. 2, 3, Sch. 3, Sch. 4)

F10Section 115A was inserted by the Social Security Administration (Fraud) Act (c. 47), section 15; sub-sections (7A) and (7B) were inserted by the Social Security Fraud Act 2001 (c. 11), section 14.