[2025] UKUT 125 (AAC)

This appeal is about an overpayment of housing benefit that arose when the housing benefit continued to be paid to the landlord after the tenant, who claimed the housing benefit to meet her rental obligations under her tenancy with the landlord, had moved out of the property.

The appeal therefore concerns from whom a recoverable overpayment of housing benefit may be sought under regulation 101 of the Housing Benefit Regulations 2006 (SI 2006 No. 213, as amended) (“the HB Regs”).

The landlord is the appellant on this appeal to the Upper Tribunal, as it was before the FTT. The housing benefit authority, the London Borough of Ealing, is the first respondent and the tenant (now ex-tenant) is the second respondent.

At one stage it had been thought that the appeal might also give rise to potentially difficult issues concerning the statutorily prescribed means of notifying a change of circumstances found in regulations 88, 88A and Schedule 11 to the HB Regs. For the reasons which we give below, those issues do not arise for decision on this appeal. In fact, the legal issues on this appeal cover a short compass and are relatively straightforward.

In order to understand the decision under appeal to the First-tier Tribunal (“the FTT”), it is necessary to first set out the relevant parts of the statutory scheme.