Direct payments of Housing Benefit

Housing Benefit can be paid direct to you if your tenant is in arrears by 8 weeks rent or more. If the rent arrears are less than 8 weeks contact us to discuss the situation, we may be able to help by contacting your tenant or suspending payments of benefit. The Rent Arrears page contains further information.

Tenants under the Local Housing Allowance rules

Your tenant cannot choose to have their benefit paid to you. However, benefit can be paid direct to you if;

it is deemed unlikely your tenant will pay their rent, or
your tenant has difficulty managing their money.

We have developed a Safeguarding Policy which outlines the circumstances when we can consider paying benefit payments directly to you. If possible we will use the information available to make a decision, but in some cases an application form may need to be completed and supported by the appropriate evidence.

We can also consider paying benefit direct to you if doing so has helped your tenant secure a new tenancy or helped them retain their existing tenancy. Specific circumstances apply but rent must have been reduced - usually to the level of the Local Housing Allowance Rate.

Tenants Not under the Local Housing Allowance rules

Your tenant can choose to have their benefit paid to you. Your tenant can either write to us to confirm this or can complete and send to us the Direct Payment to Landlord form below.