The Housing Benefit (Recovery of Overpayments) Regulations 1997

Amendment of Schedule 6 to the Housing Benefit Regulations

4.—(1) Schedule 6 to the Housing Benefit Regulations (matters in the notice of determination) shall be amended in accordance with the following provisions of this regulation.

(2) In paragraph 11 of Part IV of Schedule 6 (awards where direct payments made to landlords), after sub-paragraph (b)(1), there shall be inserted a new sub-paragraph (c)—

“(c)informing both landlords and claimants that where a payment of housing benefit is recoverable from a landlord and the recovery is made from housing benefit payable to the landlord to discharge (in whole or in part) an obligation owed to him by a claimant, then, in a case where that claimant is not the person on whose behalf the recoverable amount was paid, that obligation shall nonetheless be taken to be discharged by the amount so recovered.”

(3) In paragraph 11A of Part IV of Schedule 6(2) for the words “In this Part” there shall be substituted the words “In this Schedule,”.

(4) Paragraph 14 of Part VII of the Schedule (notice where recoverable overpayment) shall be renumbered as sub-paragraph (1) of paragraph 14 and, after that sub-paragraph, there shall be inserted a new sub-paragraph (2)—

“(2) In a case where it is—

(a)determined that there is a recoverable overpayment;

(b)determined that that overpayment is recoverable from a landlord; and

(c)decided that recovery of that overpayment is to be made by deduction from a rent allowance paid to that landlord to discharge (in whole or in part) an obligation owed to him by a claimant (“claimant A”), not being the claimant on whose behalf the recoverable amount was paid,

the notice of determination to that landlord shall identify both—

(i)the person on whose behalf the recoverable amount was paid to that landlord; and

(ii)the claimant.”.