How far back can overpaid Housing Benefit be reclaimed from Landlords?

Bill. Thank you for last explanation. All my previous comments about statute barred debts refer solely to the ability of the creditor to take court action. You have now agreed that this applies to HB overpayments. With respect. This was not clear from your initial remarks. May I repeat that the position is exactly the same for HB overpayments as for almost all other debts as is the ability of the creditor to recover debts by non court means providing that these are legal.

Tony,

I'm sorry, but I must continue to differ.

HB Overpayments are somewhat different to ordinary debts. The Creditior Council, based purely on the authority of the notification, is able to recoup the debt, from the debtor (landlord) by making reooveries from other, completely blameless, tenants' HB awards. The Council can also offset the debt against any future or backdated awards that the creditor receives.

In Scotland the notification has the same effect as a degree arbitral, allowing the creditor council to instruct Sheriff officers directly to enforce the debt's recovery without the need to secure the normal court order (smal claims etc).

I'm not as familiar with the law in England and Wales but I understand the same HB Overpayment decision can be registered as a judgment of the court. This allows the LA to use any of the court’s enforcement procedures for recovery should the debtor not pay.

I'm content that the explanations I've provided address the Q posed; the statute of limitation didn't apply in the case cited; and HB Overpayment debt is somewhat different from "normal" debts for all the reasons I've mentioned.

This is my last comment on this particular Q.

Regards

Bill Irvine

In England, it seems that the Limitations Act 1980 applies to HB overpayments (it is not a tax debt), based on the following gov.uk guide "Recovery of Overpayments" (This is not necessarily authoritative, I agree):
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/233070/hbopg-rec-op.pdf

"Standard write-offs

4.760 An LA may, within its Bad Debts Provision, hold some money back for writing off debts, where all recovery methods have been exhausted.
...
These overpayments should only be considered for write off if there are no further methods that can be pursued.

4.761 Examples of such overpayments are
...
- debts which could become non-recoverable through the courts, due to the
Limitations Act."

Hi I hope someone can help.

I have just received a bill for overpaid housing benefit from 2009. The bill totals £2100.
I have spoken to manchester council and they have admitted it was there error. They explained that there was a technical error with my claim back in 2009 and they canceled my claim but then re opened it and overpaid me. I dont understand this as I paid any funds to my landlord due to numerous problems with my claim rent was never on time and my landlord always tried to charge late payments etc.

With this being so many years down the line I don't have any paperwork ie Receipts, tenancy agreements, landlords number to clarify.

I dont know the best route forward. This isnt my fault why so far down the line should I have to pay such a large amount of money.

Thanks

Adam

Hi Adam,

Maybe Bill Irvine can help further but the extract below from one of his previous comment confirms the lack of time limit on reclaiming HB.

My first port of call would be the Citizens Advice bureau to start with

Bill Commented: There is no time constraints when considering the question of how far back an overpayment can go. Is it quite possible for a LA to go back more than 10 years from the date the OP is discovered. It must be able to demonstrate through evidence that it can justify its actions. Many of the large overpayments, caused by fraudulent action, go back 5-10 years and more.

Thirdly, the Statute of Limitation doesn’t apply to most types of recovery action (e.g. deductions from ongoing benefit, recovery via “blameless tenants” etc. These can all be pursued simply by issue of the HB Overpayment notification, assuming that is, it complies with the legislative requirements set out in a schedule to the HB regulations.

Where the Statute does apply is where recovery is being sought via the courts but it has, as you’ll no doubt recognise, very limited affect. See extract below from DWP Guidance.

DWP Guidance

“Courts and civil proceedings

Time limits for recovering overpayments

England and Wales

7.00 In England and Wales, there are no time limits for recovering overpaid HB and excess CTB, except when court action is required. 7.01 Once an overpayment debt is created between an LA and the person it is recoverable from, an LA in England or Wales may choose to pursue the debt in the County Court. However, such action must be brought within six years, as per The Limitation Act 1980 (s9). 7.02 The time limit is applicable from the date the decision was made by the LA. For overpayments caused by a mistake or error, including fraudulent overpayments, the time limit is applicable from the date the mistake or error was discovered by the LA. This applies to both overpaid HB and excess CTB.7.03 It should also be noted that the time limit starts again when there is later relevant acknowledgement by the debtor of that debt. An example may be in the form of a payment made against the debt, or a letter from the debtor admitting the debt, such as enquiring about the amount outstanding.7.04 The Limitation Act 1980 does not apply to recovery other than by bringing an action in the courts.7.05 It is important to remember that in England and Wales, overpayments being recovered using methods other than court action, can be recovered at any time regardless of how old they are. However, in cases when the overpayment covers a long period of time, LAs may find it difficult to obtain the information and evidence to make and support their calculations and therefore they may be unable to ‘prove’ the overpayment existed. The same may apply to ‘old’ overpayments that have been left for some time (unable to be recovered), as the information and evidence that supported their calculation may no longer be available!

Hi Guys
Hopefully someone can help before I tackle a landlord in the next couple days.
My now partner has been renting a flat from an estate agent for 4.5 years with rent of £650 pcm. She has received housing benefits of £150pw paid 4 weekly direct to the estate agent. He estate agent 4 years ago told her that she needed to pay a £51 per month top up and this has now only come out after she visited the council today. Technically for over 4 years she has now paid £701 per month for a £650 pcm property some £2500 overpayment to the landlord. What are her rights for recovering this money from the estate agency?

I'm hoping bill still reads these comments.
I'm currently in a real dilemma. In 2008 I was taken ill with a heart attack big enough to keep me off work for 4 months. I couldn't get any type of benefit but I did apply for housing benefit and got it despite being told I wouldn't get it due to the fact I wasn't in receipt of benefit. Anyway I did get it which was a great relief. In November 2008 I returned to work and informed th HB department that I was returning to work and needed to stop claiming. My rent at this point was being paid by dad who decided to help me while I got myself back on my feet. My rent has never been in credit in fact it fell into arrears as my dad wasn't paying regularly and never informed me. Now I had a visit from HB two weeks ago despite having stopped my claim and I received a letter today staying I've been overpaid by nearly £6000 I'm now stressing about paying them back. I'd there anything I can do

Bill's explanations are one of many reasons while I will not touch pure HB applicants with a barge pole. I have found that those who are working and get a top-up benefit, make excellent tenants.

Mark,

Your post doesn't make clear the reason for the £6000 overpayment.

If you contact me via my website http://www.ucadvice.co.uk I'll have a look at the council's letter and provide some advice. I don't usually advise tenants, unless instructed by their landlord, but I'm happy to do so, given the level of OP.

Re Teg's Dad comment.

The problem of HB Overpayments for landlords is often overstated. if a landlord can prove they've played no part in the creation of the overpayment they'll invariably escape having to repay the amount. But as I've stated in earlier posts, seek advice from a reliable source.

In the past few weeks I've dealt with Overpayments amounting to £76K, £22K, £12K and £9K. The first (£76K) involved a reclaim to 1998. I've since reduced that figure to £11K and expect to have the remainder written off as well. In each of the other cases, the landlord was relieved, following internal revision by the councils concerned. This was mainly due to their good case reports, combined with the many supportive Upper-tier judgements that exist to protect landlords.

Bill Irvine
UC Advice & Advocacy Ltd
http://www.ucadvice.co.uk

Bill,

I take your point, however when there are good professional tenants available I would not touch HB tenants. The only ones that have ever been trouble-free are the ones that work and get top-up.

I am all for a quiet life as a landlord. Rent comes in, repairs get fixed as they occur, tenants and landlords are happy. No rent comes in = unhappy landlord. Tenant blames council etc.

I prefer the quiet life.