Housing benefit payments

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How and when payment is made

Payment will usually be made straight into a bank or building society account on a Wednesday evening and should be in the account on the following Monday. Housing benefit is paid every 4 weeks, in arrears.

Payment schedule 

The table below shows the dates that housing benefit payments are due 

Council Tax support

If you are entitled to Council Tax support, then your entitlement will be credited to your Council Tax bill for the relevant financial year.

Housing association tenant payments 

Housing benefit payments can be paid to you or direct to your landlord. 

Private tenant payments

In most cases, you will receive the payment and you will have to make arrangements to pay rent to the landlord yourself. 

Payments direct to landlord

In exceptional circumstances, we may decide to make payments to your landlord, but this will only happen if there are compelling reasons for us to do so such as:

• if you have rent arrears, in most cases 8 weeks or more rent
• if you are unlikely to pay your rent
• if you are likely to have difficulty managing your finances.

If we decide to make payments to your landlord, this can be reviewed at a later date and the decision may change.

Payment schedules for landlords

If you are a landlord, you can view your payment schedules online by registering for a Council Tax online (e-citizen) account.

Register for an online account   Log in to your online account