How will I be paid?

Your Housing Benefit can be paid to you, or in some circumstances we can pay direct to your landlord. Housing Benefit is paid by BACS straight into a bank account. 

Your Council Tax Support will be credited straight to your Council Tax account.

Housing Benefit

If you rent your home from a housing association (such as New Progress, Accent, Contour etc) you can choose to have your benefit paid direct to you or them.

If your benefit is not worked out under the Local Housing Allowance scheme and you rent your home from a private landlord, you can choose to have your benefit paid direct to your landlord.

Local Housing Allowance

If your Housing Benefit is worked out under the Local Housing Allowance scheme then we must pay your Housing Benefit to you and not your landlord. There are some circumstances where we can pay your landlord direct, such as:

• You have difficulty managing your financial affairs and qualify under the safeguarding rules
• You have rent arrears of 8 weeks or more
• You are unlikely to pay your rent, or
• Paying your landlord direct will allow you to obtain or renew a tenancy

Rent arrears of eight weeks or more

If you are eight or more weeks in arrears with your rent at any time while you are claiming or receiving Housing Benefit, you cannot choose who we pay your benefit to. By law we must pay your landlord or managing agent. Tell us if you rent, or a tenant's rent, is in arrears and provide evidence to support this. The Housing Benefit will be paid to the landlord until the rent arrears have dropped under eight weeks.

If there is a dispute between tenant and landlord regarding the amount of rent arrears, Housing Benefit payments will be suspended while we investigate.

Council Tax Support

Council Tax Support is paid in a different way. The benefit is calculated from the date of your claim right through to the end of the financial year (31 March). The entitlement is then credited to your Council Tax account and a bill is sent to you. The bill will tell you how much Council Tax is left that you must pay.

Changes in your circumstances will affect the amount of benefit you get. You must tell us about any changes in circumstances straight away - it is not up to anyone else to tell us.

Payment dates 2021

Payment will be made via bank transfer on the following dates:

• 29 January 2021
• 26 February 2021
• 26 March 2021
• 23 April 2021
• 21 May 2021
• 18 June 2021
• 16 July 2021
• 13 August 2021
• 10 September 2021
• 08 October 2021
• 05 November 2021
• 03 December 2021