Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, who is responsible for repaying an overpayment of housing benefit in cases where the local authority makes that payment direct to a landlord.

Responsibility for recovery of Housing Benefit overpayments lies with the Local Authority who paid the Housing Benefit and now seek to recover it. They will make the decision firstly on whether it is an overpayment and secondly whether it is recoverable and from whom it is recoverable.

The legislation provides for instances of recovery of housing benefit overpayments direct from the landlord where it has been paid to the landlord as long as the overpayment is recoverable and the Local Authority has decided to recover it.

However, if the overpayment arose as a result of a misrepresentation or a failure to disclose a material fact by the tenant, or an appointee, then it can only be recovered from the person who misrepresented or failed to disclose i.e. the tenant or the appointee. The legislation also covers a number of other instances where recovery could not be sought from the landlord.