(1)Except where regulations otherwise provide, any amount of housing benefit paid in excess of entitlement may be recovered in such manner as may be prescribed either by the Secretary of State or by the authority which paid the benefit.
(2)Regulations may require such an authority to recover such an amount in such circumstances as may be prescribed.
(3)An amount recoverable under this section is in all cases recoverable from the person to whom it was paid; but, in such circumstances as may be prescribed, it may also be recovered from such other person as may be prescribed.
(4)Any amount recoverable under this section may, without prejudice to any other method of recovery, be recovered by deduction from prescribed benefits.