The Housing Benefit (General) (Amendment No. 2) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005

“(bb)

the Executive is satisfied that the overpayment did not occur as a result of any change of dwelling occupied by the claimant as his home;”.

“(2)

For the purposes of section 73(3)(b) of the Administration Act (overpayments of housing benefit), where recovery of an overpayment is sought by the Executive—

(a)

the prescribed person from whom it is sought shall be—

(i)

in a case where an overpayment arose in consequence of a misrepresentation of or a failure to disclose a material fact (in either case, whether fraudulently or otherwise) by or on behalf of the claimant or any other person to whom housing benefit has been paid, the person who misrepresented or failed to disclose that material fact instead of, if different, the person to whom the payment was made;

(ii)

in a case where an overpayment arose in consequence of an official error where the claimant or a person acting on his behalf or any other person to whom the payment has been made could reasonably have been expected, at the time of receipt of the payment or of any notice relating to that payment, to realise that it was an overpayment, that person instead of, if different, the person to whom the payment was made, or

(b)

where sub-paragraphs (a)(i) and (ii) do not apply, the prescribed person from whom it is sought is—

(i)

the claimant.;

(ii)

in a case where a recoverable overpayment is made to a claimant who has one or more partners, the claimant’s partner or any of his partners.”.

“(3A)

For the purposes of paragraph (2)(a)(ii), “overpayment arose in consequence of an official error” shall have the same meaning as in regulation 99(3)”.

“(1A)

Where—

(a)

a claimant has moved into a dwelling which he occupies as his home;

(b)

a recoverable overpayment of housing benefit is thereafter made direct to him in connection with the dwelling he occupied as his home immediately preceding the date he moved to that dwelling, and

(c)

the relevant authority which made the recoverable overpayment is paying housing benefit to that claimant in respect of that new dwelling,

the relevant authority may at its discretion deduct from the housing benefit it is paying to the claimant in respect of a benefit week an amount equal to the claimant’s weekly entitlement to housing benefit at his new dwelling, and may do so for the number of benefit weeks equal to the number of weeks during which the claimant was over paid housing benefit.”.