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.

Do I have to pay it back?
Yes, if we have paid you too much benefit, we will usually ask you to pay back the amount we have overpaid. This is called a ‘recoverable overpayment’. We can recover all overpayments, unless they are caused by an ‘official error’ which we could not reasonably have expected you to know about. An ‘official error' is a mistake we, the DWP or Jobcentre Plus make. It is not an official error if you, or a person acting for you, contributed to the mistake by not giving us information or by giving false or misleading information. Sometimes we may be able to reduce the overpayment .

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.

Our letter will also tell you how we will recover the overpayment and how to appeal if you disagree with the overpayment.

What can I do to avoid overpayments?
Here are some steps you can take to try to prevent overpayments from happening

Fill out your benefit claim form as fully as possible so that we can work out your entitlement accurately.
If we ask you for more information, please send what we ask for without delay. Only send original documents, not photocopies.
Read your award letter carefully. Check that the information we have based your benefit on is correct. If we have made a mistake, or used the wrong information, please tell us without delay.
Tell us about any changes in your circumstances as soon as possible after they happen.

You can find more information in our booklet Housing and Council Tax Benefit Overpayments. (139KB - 28 August 2008 - PDF Help)