You must report any changes in your circumstances to prevent an overpayment. If you do not tell us of changes, this could result in a fraud investigation.
Recovery of Council Tax Support
We pay Council Tax Support into your Council Tax account. If an overpayment has been made, we will recover it from your Council Tax account. We will send you a new Council Tax bill to show how much you will have to pay in future.
Recovery of Housing Benefit overpayments
If you continue to receive Housing Benefit payments after the overpayment has been established, we will reduce the amount you receive on a weekly basis (amount shown in table below). If the overpayment has resulted from fraudulent activity, the amount is set at a higher rate.
| Claimant or partner | Weekly rate | Weekly rate for fraud |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployed | £13.65 | £22.75 |
| Working (single) | £16.15 | £25.25 |
| Working (couple) | £18.65 | £27.75 |
| Working and entitled to disability or carer premium | £23.65 | £32.75 |
| Working (single parent) | £26.15 | £35.25 |
If you no longer receive Housing Benefits payments after the overpayment has been established, we will send you an invoice for the total amount of Housing Benefit that you need to re-pay. You will need to pay the total amount in one payment within a month.
Make a Housing Benefit repayment
If you do not pay, we may:
- ask the Department for Work and Pensions to take a weekly amount from your benefits
- ask your employer to deduct an amount from your weekly or monthly pay
- employ a collection agency to get this money on our behalf
- in some circumstances, initiate legal action against you
Email revs@enfield.gov.uk if you have a problem paying us back, including your name, address and telephone number. You can contact us on 020 8379 4174 (Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 4:30pm) to discuss other payment options.
Disagreeing with your overpayment decision
If you disagree with our decision, you can request a review by emailing revs@enfield.gov.uk. Your request must be made within one month of receiving the decision letter.
Landlord or agent overpayments
We will recover an overpayment of Housing Benefit paid to you if:
- the tenant moved
- the tenant died
- there was a decrease in rent
- you were aware that you were being overpaid
We will reduce the amount of Housing Benefit you get by a set amount until the overpayment is cleared.
We may send you an invoice for the total amount of Housing Benefit you must return. If you do not pay we may:
- employ a collection agency to get this money on our behalf
- in some circumstances, initiate legal action against you
- take the full amount from payments made to you for other tenants
Email revs@enfield.gov.uk if you have a query about an overpayment, including your name, address and telephone number. You can contact us on 020 8379 4174 (Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 4:30pm).