HB Overpayment due to rent free weeks!

[francis1306]

Dear All, I have another small query for you regarding housing benefit overpayments due to rent free weeks!

 

I received a call from my Mother saying that she had been contacted by her landlord, or rather a member of staff (a national social housing group). My Mother tried to explain that they (landlord) informed her that she owed them just over £500 due to Housing Benefit overpayment!

 

Before going into detail regarding the above, I should let you know that my Mother receives, and has done for a number of years, pension credit entitling her to full HB and CT. The HB has always been paid direct to her social housing landlord.

 

I will also add that my Mother was also paying off a HB overpayment at £xx per month. In fact, almost a year ago, I had noticed on my Mothers bank statement, that a DD was being paid out but she could not recall what this was for. After some digging I found out that this DD related to this HB overpayment, which had not only been paid in full but was still being taken from my Mothers account. This resulted in a credit to the amount of around £900, being held in my Mothers landlords account.

 

I spoke with a member of staff who confirmed that my Mother had indeed overpaid this HB overpayment to the tune of £900 and that they would arrange for this sum to be paid back into my Mothers account. This has now taken place and as I say, some months ago.

 

Now, arises the present predicament. My Mother has received a call from her landlord, in which they explained that her HB has been overpaid due to the fact that HB had been paying rent for the 2 rent free weeks per year since my Mother moved into her current address. I have been told that this is in the tune of around £500 and had mistakenly been included in the above £900 that my Mother had overpaid to her landlord.

 

I was also informed that there were a large number of tenants renting property from this social housing group who have been caught in the same trap and face having to pay differing amounts back.

 

Now, although I have not had a chance to discuss this face to face with my Mothers landlord, or a member of their staff, a few queries arise!

 

The 1st and most important being, is my Mother liable to repay the HB that had been paid direct to the landlord due to a problem with notification of rent free weeks? This takes me back to when my Mother moved into the current property and that it is more than likely that it may well have been a member of staff of her current landlord who would have completed any such HB application form. If, as suspected, this is the case, surely it would have been down to member of staff who completed HB application form to include the correct number of weeks for which HB is being applied?

 

I cannot fathom how my Mothers landlord has the ability to request that my Mother repay any amount of HB when this is no fault of my Mothers, as far as I can make out. Since my Mother took tenancy she has always been entitled to Pension Credit and as such, to full HB and CT.

 

The only matter where My Mothers circumstances have changed was at the beginning of this year when she was diagnosed with Alzheimers. At that point I made contact with AgeUK who completed and submitted a application for Attendance Allowance which was ultimately granted. This then entitled my Mother to a higher figure of PC due to the Severe Disability Premium being added. However, this would have no bearing on my Mothers entitlement to HB.

 

Bearing all of the above in mind, until I am told/shown anything to the contrary, am I correct in thinking that this or any amount of HB overpayment paid on the above basis, is/should be classed as unrecoverable due to the fact that it has been caused by official error?

 

In a nutshell, once my Mother signed tenancy agreement, her rent has been paid in full by HB direct to her social housing landlord. My Mothers repayment of previous overpayment of HB (relating to different property/landlord) which had caused a credit of some £900 to Mothers current landlord, as explained in paragraphs 3, 4 and 5 above, should have no bearing on current matter. Indeed, I would go as far as to say that my Mothers landlord should have notified my Mother once that previous HB had been repaid and not have kept collecting this once it had been paid off.

 

All responses and replies gratefully received.

[Shoelover]

But if the council have paid rent free weeks to the landlord for weeks where there isn't a rent liability, wouldn't the rent account be in credit for those weeks?

[id6052]

From the information, it is unclear what you are suggesting was the "official error" that caused the overpayment.

 

Mistakes made by claimants or landlords (or incorrect information provided by them) are not classed as official errors

[CrappoMan]

As shoelover says, if the HB/rent was paid direct to the landlord, the account will be in credit and the landlord will have the money and should repay it.

[id6052]

But if the council have paid rent free weeks to the landlord for weeks where there isn't a rent liability, wouldn't the rent account be in credit for those weeks?

 

From sounds of things, the landlord took £400 too much from the tenant for the overpayment, and also received £500 too much from the Council for the rent free weeks. I think the problem is they repaid the whole lot to the tenant

 

Not sure which landlord it was, but obviously they do not appear to be managing rent accounts well, if they did nothing to stop either of the above

 

Surely a responsible landlord should start asking questions long before a rent account is £900 in credit

[Shoelover]

I'm confused. Was the overpayment that existed previously recovered from ongoing HB & therefore your Mum paid a top up to her landlord or was your mum making payments to the council?

[francis1306]

Seems some clarification needed. Re-Mothers original HB overpayment which resulted in a large credit that was found and ultimately paid back-this was paid to Allpay Ltd by DD. So this would mean that there should be a seperate account somewhere within the social landlords accounting procedure, I would think, or at the very least, the landlord should be able to know difference between current HB account for the flat Mother rents for which she is entitled to full HB which is paid direct to landlord.

 

Since Mother rented flat to which Landlord says HB overpayment has occured, how can this be Mothers fault? Mother always entitled to HB via penion credit award. No changes of circumstances have occured that required notification that would have changed any entitlement to HB.

 

The only point I can think is that when housing officer agent/rep of landlord had originally shown Mother premises and completed and submitted HB app on her behalf that they had omitted/mistakenly put down 52 weeks as oppose to 50 weeks, taking into account 2 free weeks rent per year-hence title of post.

 

But how the landlord comes to the conclusion that my Mother is liable for these charges for the rent free weeks that have been paid for ny HB is beyond me. This is surely an internal problem for the landlord and whoever completed not just my Mothers HB app, but also for those other tenants who find themselves in this position, as mentioned in my initial call with landlord!

 

If the landlord does not have sufficient accounting prowess or such an outdated computer programme that they cannot deal with these matter is beyond me, but to ask their tenants to pay for their (landlord) accounting mistakes is unreasonable at best. As I say, no circumstances have changed since my Mother signed tenancy and HB application so again, I fail to see how she should be held liable, or indeed their other tenants that have been affected!

 

To answer 1 of the reply queries, the HB overpayment that my Mother was paying related to previous flat and previous landlord-that overpayment was beng paid by DD to Allpay ltd-who they passed on those collections to I can only assume is my Mothers current landlord as it is they who credited my Mothers account when it was realised that she had overpaid that overpayment by £900-this was a completely seperate matter (or at least should have been for accounting purposes). Indeed from memory, my Mother receives statements every 2 months from her landlord which shows her rent being paid by HB-I am sure some of you are aware of these documents which are sent out 'for information only'. I am certain that these statements have never shown anything of the overpaid overpayment to the tune of £900 or I would have noticed this earlier and would not have reached the stage of £900 being owed back to my Mother.

 

Hope the above clarifies some of the queries and further comments/advice welcome.