The Housing Benefit Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006

Prospective

Person from whom recovery may be sought N.I.

98.—(1) For the purposes of section 73(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 to a landlord in accordance with regulation 92 or 93;

(b) the landlord has notified the Executive or the Department in writing that he suspects that there has been an overpayment;

(c) the Executive is satisfied that the overpayment did not occur as a result of any change of dwelling occupied by the claimant as his home;

(d) it appears to the Executive 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 105A(2) or 106(1)(3) of the Administration Act (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 84 and the overpayment occurred as a result of that deliberate failure; and

(e) the Executive 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 73(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), where recovery of an overpayment is sought by the Executive—

(a) the prescribed person from whom it is sought shall be—

(i) in a case where an overpayment arose in consequence of a misrepresentation of or a 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 instead of, if different, the person to whom the payment was made;

(ii) in a case where an overpayment arose in consequence of an official error where the claimant or a person acting on his behalf or any other person to whom the payment has been made could reasonably have been expected, at the time of receipt of the payment or of any notice relating to that payment, to realise that it was an overpayment, that person instead of, if different, the person to whom the payment was made; or

(b) where sub-paragraph (a)(i) and (ii) do not apply, the prescribed person from whom it is sought is—

(i) the claimant;

(ii) 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.

(3) For the purposes of paragraph (1), “landlord” shall have the same meaning as it has for the purposes of regulation 92.

(4) For the purposes of paragraph (2)(a)(ii), “overpayment arose in consequence of an official error” shall have the same meaning as in regulation 97(3).

(5) For the purposes of paragraph (2)(b)(ii), 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.

Commencement Information

I1 Reg. 98 in operation at 20.11.2006, see reg. 1(1)

(1)

Section 73(3) was substituted by section 62 of the Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Act (Northern Ireland) 2000 (c. 4 (N.I.))

(2)

Section 105A was inserted by Article 12 of the Social Security Administration (Fraud) (Northern Ireland) Order 1997 (S.I. 1997/1182 (N.I. 11)) and amended by paragraph 5 of Schedule 6 and Part V of Schedule 9 to the Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Act (Northern Ireland) 2000 and section 15(1) of the Social Security Fraud Act (Northern Ireland) 2001 (c. 17 (N.I.))

(3)

Section 106(1) was amended by paragraph 3(2) of Schedule 1 to the Social Security Administration (Fraud) (Northern Ireland) Order 1997 and paragraph 6 of Schedule 6 to the Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Act (Northern Ireland) 2000