Council Tax Support
Council Tax Support is paid directly onto your Council Tax Account. It shows on your Council Tax bill as a lump sum credit.
Housing Benefit / Local Housing Allowance
Housing Benefit is paid directly into a bank / building society account of your choice. This payment method is called BACS, it is fast, secure and avoids any potential postal delays.
Benefit is paid in arrears in a choice of payment frequency; fortnightly, four weekly and monthly unless we pay a landlord - payments to landlords can only be paid four-weekly or monthly in arrears.
First Payments
The very first payment on a Housing Benefit claim will be a one-off payment calculated from the date your benefit entitlement begins to the date that your normal payment falls due within your payment cycle.
First Payment of Housing Benefit
The very first payment on a Housing Benefit claim will be a one-off payment calculated from the date your benefit entitlement begins to the date that your normal payment falls due within your payment cycle.
The date of your normal regular payments will vary depending on whether you will be paid Monthly or 4-weekly.
Monthly Payment Example:
Monthly payments will be paid into your bank account on the last Wednesday of every month for the entitlement for the whole month:
Housing Benefit entitlement Start Date: 16 May
Claim assessed on: 3 June
First payment period: 16 May to 31 May (paid on the last Wednesday in May)
4 Weekly Payment Example:
(Lets say all 4 weekly payments have been paid up to 29 May)
Housing Benefit Entitlement start date: 16 May
Claim assessed on: 3 June
First Payment period: 16 May to 29 May (paid on 30 May)
Second payment period: 30 May to 26 June (paid on 27 June)
And then every 4 weeks.
Important note
All monthly payments are paid into your bank account on the last Wednesday of every month but if the Monday of that week is a Bank Holiday the payments may not reach your bank account until the Thursday or at Christmas we may make the payments a week earlier to avoid the Christmas week.
Future payments
First payments or catch-up payments following an increase in your Benefit entitlement will pay out on the first Monday payment run or the first Thursday non-regular payment run following the calculation of your claim.
Weekly and fortnightly Benefits payments will always be made on a Monday unless the Monday is a non-working day (Bank Holiday).
Who benefit is paid to
Under the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rules, in most cases we can no longer offer the choice of having payments sent direct to a landlord.
Your LHA entitlement will be paid to you, directly into your bank/building society account. Termed BACS, this method of payment is fast, secure and avoids any potential postal delays.
It is your responsibility to make sure you pay your rent to your landlord in accordance with your rental agreement.
If you feel that you will be unable to manage payments direct to you, into an account we will consider the reasons given. Decisions are made on every case individually in line with our Safeguard Policy.
With effect from April 2011 the Safeguarding provisions have been widened in line with Government advice. In cases where a tenancy has been secured or retained by the rent being set or reduced to an affordable level, the claimant or the landlord can apply to have payments paid direct to the landlord. An ‘affordable’ rent level would be one that the customer could reasonably afford whilst in receipt of Housing Benefit based on the Local Housing Allowance rates.
