The Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit (General) Amendment Regulations 2005

Person from whom recovery may be sought

6.—(1) Regulation 101 of the Housing Benefit Regulations shall be amended in accordance with the following paragraphs of this regulation.

(2) After paragraph (1)(b), there shall be inserted the following sub-paragraph—

“(bb) the relevant authority is satisfied that the overpayment did not occur as a result of any change of dwelling occupied by the claimant as his home;”.

(3) For paragraph (2) there shall be substituted the following paragraph—

“(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), where recovery of an overpayment is sought by a relevant authority–

(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-paragraphs (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.”.

(4) After paragraph (3), there shall be inserted the following paragraph—

“(3A) For the purposes of paragraph (2)(a)(ii), “overpayment arose in consequence of an official error” shall have the same meaning as in regulation 99(3) above.”.

(5) In paragraph (4) for the words “paragraph (2)(b)” there shall be substituted the words “paragraph (2)(b)(ii)”.