The Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit (General) Amendment Regulations 2005

• Citation: S.I. 2005/2904
• Sections: 10

Section 1 Citation, commencement and interpretation

(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit (General) Amendment Regulations 2005 and shall come into force on 10 th April 2006.

(2) In these Regulations—

“the Council Tax Benefit Regulations ” means the Council Tax Benefit (General) Regulations 1992 ;

“the Housing Benefit Regulations ” means the Housing Benefit (General) Regulations 1987 .

Section 2 Meaning of Overpayment

In regulation 98 of the Housing Benefit Regulations for the words “as subsequently revised or further revised” there shall be substituted the words “or as subsequently revised or superseded or further revised or superseded”.

Section 3 Meaning of excess benefit

In regulation 83 of the Council Tax Benefit Regulations for the words “as subsequently revised or further revised” there shall be substituted the words “or as subsequently revised or superseded or further revised or superseded”.

Section 4 Recoverable overpayments

(1) Regulation 99 of the Housing Benefit Regulations shall be amended in accordance with the following paragraphs of this regulation.

(2) In paragraph (2) for the words “caused by” there shall be substituted the words “which arose in consequence of”.

(3) In paragraph (3) for the words “caused by official error” there shall be substituted the words “which arose in consequence of an official error”.

(4) In paragraph (4) after the word “revised” there shall be inserted the words “or superseded” and after the word “revision” there shall be inserted the words “or supersession”.

Section 5 Recoverable excess benefit

In regulation 84(5) of the Council Tax Benefit Regulations after the word “revised” there shall be inserted the words “or superseded” and after the word “revision” there shall be inserted the words “or supersession”.

Section 6 Person from whom recovery may be sought

(1) Regulation 101 of the Housing Benefit Regulations shall be amended in accordance with the following paragraphs of this regulation.

(2) After paragraph (1)(b), there shall be inserted the following sub-paragraph—

(bb) the relevant authority is satisfied that the overpayment did not occur as a result of any change of dwelling occupied by the claimant as his home;

(3) For paragraph (2) there shall be substituted the following paragraph—

(2) For the purposes of section 75(3)(b) of the Administration Act (recovery from such other person, as well as or instead of the person to whom the overpayment was made), where recovery of an overpayment is sought by a relevant authority–

(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.

(4) After paragraph (3), there shall be inserted the following paragraph—

(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) above.

(5) In paragraph (4) for the words “paragraph (2)(b)” there shall be substituted the words “paragraph (2)(b)(ii)”.

Section 7 Method of recovery

(1) Regulation 102 of the Housing Benefit Regulations shall be amended in accordance with the following paragraphs of this regulation.

(2) In paragraphs (1), (2) and (3) for the words “an authority” there shall be substituted the words “a relevant authority”.

(3) After paragraph (1), there shall be inserted the following paragraph—

(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 same 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 overpaid housing benefit.

(4) In paragraph (2) after the word “paragraphs” there shall be inserted the reference “(1A),”.

(5) In paragraph (5) after the word “regulation” there shall be inserted the words “, except as made under paragraph (1A),”.

Section 8 Sums to be deducted in calculating recoverable overpayments

In regulation 104(1)(c) of the Housing Benefit Regulations after the words “change of circumstances” there shall be inserted the words “, except a change of the dwelling which the claimant occupies as his home,”.

Section 9 Recovery of overpayments from prescribed benefits

In regulation 105 of the Housing Benefit Regulations, after paragraph (1) there shall be inserted the following paragraph—

(1A) For the purposes of paragraph (1)(c) the term “member State” shall be understood to include Switzerland in accordance with and subject to the provisions of Annex II of the Agreement between the European Community and its Member States and the Swiss Confederation on the free movement of persons, signed at Brussels on 21st June 1999.

Section 10 Recovery of excess benefit from prescribed benefits

In regulation 91(1)(b) of the Council Tax Benefit Regulations, after paragraph (1) there shall be inserted the following paragraph—

(1A) For the purposes of paragraph (1)(b) the term “member State” shall be understood to include Switzerland in accordance with and subject to the provisions of Annex II of the Agreement between the European Community and its Member States and the Swiss Confederation on the free movement of persons, signed at Brussels on 21st June 1999.