Housing Benefit overpayments and how they happen
If your circumstances change, the amount of Housing Benefit you are entitled to may also change. If you have paid too much benefit, it’s called an overpayment.
How overpayments can happen
Overpayments can happen if:
- you do not tell us about a change in circumstances which could affect your benefit,
- because we have made a mistake when calculating your benefit.
They can also happen if you forget to tell us that:
- you have started or changed jobs
- your household income has changed
- you have moved home
- somebody has moved into your home
- you stop getting child benefit for a dependant
You can help prevent overpayments by reporting a change that impacts your benefits.
Each time your benefit is adjusted, you will receive a notification letter which will give you a breakdown of the calculations used to make that adjustment. You must read this notification letter carefully and let us know if any information is incorrect.
Notifying you of an overpayment
If you’ve been overpaid, we’ll write to you to explain:
- how the overpayment happened
- the amount you were overpaid
- the period of overpayment
- how you need to repay the overpayment
- your rights of appeal
You will also receive an invoice which gives you an invoice number and tells you how to pay the overpayment.