Benefits - Overpayments

When too much benefit is paid this is known as an ‘overpayment’ for Housing Benefit and an ‘excess payment’ for Council Tax Benefit. Any overpayment can be recovered from you unless it was caused by our mistake and you could not reasonably be expected to have known about it. 

Excess payments of Council Tax Benefit are recovered by taking the money back from your Council Tax account. Overpayments of Housing Benefit are most often recovered either by deducting an amount from future benefit payments or by sending you or your landlord an invoice.