If Local Housing Allowance applies to you, your benefit will be paid directly into your bank or building society account.
Can I have my benefit paid direct to my landlord?
Tenants cannot choose to have their benefit paid directly to their landlord. However, if tenants are likely to have difficulty in paying their rent, we may decide to pay benefit to the landlord. To apply please fill in the application for payment of Local Housing Allowance to your Landlord form.
What will happen if I don’t use my benefit to pay my rent?
As a tenant you are responsible for paying your rent to your landlord. This is the same as for tenants who do not get benefit. If you do not pay your rent your landlord may apply to us to have your benefit paid to them. Or they may take other action to recover their money, including evicting you from your home.
How can I pay my rent?
The easiest way to pay your rent is to have your benefit paid into a bank or building society account and arrange to pay the rent to your landlord automatically. This is called a standing order. As long as you have enough money in your account, you won’t have to worry about remembering to pay your rent and your landlord will know the rent will be paid automatically.
Opening a bank/building society account
If you don’t have a bank or building society account, now may be a good time to open an account either at a bank, building society
You can get advice about opening and running a bank account from any bank or building society.
There are many organisations that can give you advice about money, including if you have already tried to open an account and have not been able to. Please see Help with managing your money and debt for details of some useful contacts.
