A Devon local authority has paid around a third of a million pounds back to social housing tenants as it works to rectify the impact of a rent calculator error.

Mid Devon District Council had unwittingly been charging its council tenants the wrong rent, and has previously suggested the error could lead to a £1.8 million payout.

The problem was first identified in 2024 during an audit, which revealed around 1,200 of the council’s social housing tenants had been overcharged, with a further 1,600 undercharged.

It was understood at the time that around 20 councils were dealing with a similar problem.

Organising refunds for tenants that have overpaid rent has been complex, because of the fact some tenants have their rent partly paid through benefits.

Mid Devon said it had been prioritising the cases where tenants don’t receive benefits, and stressed again that it would not be seeking additional money from tenants who had been underpaying rent as a result of the calculation error.

Those in receipt of Universal Credit cannot be dealt with by the council but the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) instead. Mid Devon said it had not yet been told how that government department wanted to deal with the refunds.

In an update to the council’s cabinet, council officers revealed that refunds had now been made to 402 tenants with a total value of £330,210.

That figure includes £13,775 in compensation, which some tenants have sought, and also includes cases where housing benefit has been corrected and the remaining balance refunded.

Councillor John Downes (Liberal Democrat, Crediton Boniface), the cabinet member for governance, finance and risk, thanked council workers who had been dealing with the issue.

“While we recognise we have to protect the council purse, we are not pursuing residents who were underpaying rent [as a result of the calculation error],” he said.

The council’s finance chief, Andrew Jarrett, said ongoing efforts were being made to find out from the DWP regarding residents who have paid rent wholly or partly through Universal Credit.

In a report prepared for the meeting, the council said it was communicating with all applicable tenants to make sure they “are fully aware of their position and the steps being taken”.

“This included drop-in sessions within the three main towns, as well as letters, calls, home visits and through our website,” the report added.

“Members will continue to receive periodic updates. The [social housing] regulator is also fully engaged and kept informed, with the latest meeting held on 21 July 2026.”

Mid Devon has relied on legal advice to state that it would refund six years’ worth of overpayments, even though the issue goes back to 2002.

The council has pledged not to claim back money from tenants who have been underpaying their rent but said it was “likely” new charges would come into effect at the end of a tenancy agreement.