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Recovery of overpaid HB from landlord when tenant vacates
Hi – any views on this issue please?
Our tenant moves permanently into a nursing home but doesn’t tell us until a few weeks later.
In the meantime HB continues to be paid direct to us.
Eventually, LA decides that HB has been overpaid from 4 weeks after tenant’s decision (allowing tnt the notice period). They are probably correct. They then ask us to repay.
I argue that OP is caused by tenant’s failure to disclose and therefore we are protected by 101(2)(b) – makes the tenant the target for recovery.
LA argue that because 101(2)(a) reads ‘subject to para 1’ this always engages 101(1)(bb) and effectively means that in any direct payment case where a tenant vacates then landlord is target.
P 489 of 23rd Findlay seems to back this up:
‘However, this general rule [that recovery can be made from such other person as well as the person to whom it was paid] will not apply if reg 101(1) applies.’
My view is that 101(1) gives a specific protection to the LL but that 101(2)(b) gives further protection where the LL is ‘blameless’.
But I’m struggling to express this in coherent terms.
Any assistance welcome.
(BTW it is actually the pension age regs that are applying in this case but they read the same as the regular ones on this topic - I think!)