Tenants hit by rent error being refunded

REFUNDS for tenants of a council are being processed as part of an expected £1.8 million payout caused by a calculation error.

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Mid Devon District Council became aware it had overcharged around 1,200 of its social housing tenants after an audit last year exposed a “historical anomaly” that also meant a further 1,600 had been undercharged.

It's understood around 20 councils are dealing with a similar problem.

Mid Devon has now updated its progress with the refunds, some of which have been complicated by the levels of benefits individual residents receive. The council said it had now processed all types of cases where residents received no benefits, as well as those cases where residents got housing benefit. It is still awaiting guidance on how to deal with those on Universal Credit.