Overpayments
What is overpayment of benefit?
An overpayment is any amount of Housing or Council Tax Benefit (or both) which we paid you or your landlord when you were not entitled to get it.
The amount you have been overpaid is the difference between the amount of benefit you actually received and the amount you should have got.
For example
If you got £15 a week for two weeks (total £30) and as a result of a change in your circumstances you should only have received £10 for each week (total £20), then you will have been overpaid by £10 (£30 - £20). So you would have to pay back £10.
If you have had an overpayment, we will write to you giving the full details of the overpayment. The letter will tell you:
- how the overpayment happened,
- the amount you were overpaid and
- the period of the overpayment.
It will also tell you how we will recover the overpayment and what to do if you disagree with the overpayment.
You can find more information in our booklet 
Housing and Council Tax Benefit Overpayments. (139KB - PDF Help)
