Payments of housing benefit

Housing benefit is paid in different ways depending on the type of claim.

Six Town Housing tenants

We pay your housing benefit weekly, straight to your rent account, and it reduces the amount of rent you have to pay.

Housing association tenants

We usually pay your housing benefit every four weeks in arrears. Payments can be made to you or your landlord.

Private tenants who claimed before April 2008

We usually pay your housing benefit every four weeks in arrears. Payments can be made to you or your landlord.

Private tenants who claimed after April 2008 (Local Housing Allowance)

We usually pay your local housing allowance every four weeks in arrears.

The introduction of local housing allowance in 2008 removed the automatic right for landlords to request payments of benefit be made to themselves. This means that payments will normally be made to you.

However there are safeguards which mean that in some circumstances payments can be made to landlords. These include situations where:

• the tenant is unable to manage their own affairs.

• the tenant is unlikely to pay their rent.

• there are rent arrears of over 8 weeks.

• the landlord agrees to reduce the rent and this enable a tenant to obtain a new tenancy or continue with an existing tenancy

Find out more about payments of local housing allowance.

Payments to bank accounts

If we are paying housing benefit directly to you wherever possible it will be paid into your bank or building society account by a direct credit transfer called BACS. This is a fast and secure method of payment.

If you do not already have a bank or building society account, please see our basic bank accounts page, for details about accounts available from banks and building societies in the local area

Dates of four weekly payments

We make four weekly payments, for tenants of housing associations and private landlords, on a regular cycle. Please see our housing benefit payments calendar 2013-2014 for the dates when these payments are made.

If you have made a new claim we will make a one off payment when your claim is assessed to bring you into line with the payment cycle, so you don't have to wait until the next regular 4 weekly payment date.

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