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England

Payment of housing benefit

The manner and frequency of housing benefit payment to different categories of tenants or to landlords.

This content applies to England

Local authority tenants

Housing benefit for a local authority tenant is paid directly into their rent account. The payment to a local authority tenant is known as a rent rebate.

Other tenants

Housing benefit for claimants who are not local authority tenants can be paid to the claimant or their landlord, as described below. The payment to a non-local authority tenant is known as a rent allowance.

The most common payment frequency is once every four weeks, although it can be paid fortnightly, monthly, or if agreed with the claimant at intervals greater than a month.[1]

Payments are usually made by bank transfer, but the local authority must take into account reasonable needs and convenience of the tenant.[2]

Housing benefit can be paid directly to a landlord at the tenant's request, or if the local authority considers it to be in the tenant's best interests.[3]

The local authority must make payments direct to the tenant's landlord if one of the following applies:[4]

  • the claimant is eight weeks or more in rent arrears and payment to the landlord is not against the claimant's interest

  • a deduction from income support, income-based jobseeker's allowance or pension credit is being made to pay arrears

Arrears on rent in advance can be taken into account when calculating the eight weeks' threshold.[5]

However, the local authority can refuse to make housing benefit payments directly to the landlord if it considers that the landlord is not a fit and proper person to receive such payments.[6]

For the rules that apply to the payment of housing benefit under the local housing allowance scheme, see How LHA is paid.

Underpayments of housing benefit

If the local authority pays too little housing benefit as a result of official error (and the claimant does not contribute to this), the arrears must be awarded no matter how far they go back.[7]

Last updated: 12 March 2021

Footnotes

  • [1]

    reg 92 Housing Benefit Regulations 2006 SI 2006/213; reg 73 Housing Benefit (Persons who have attained the qualifying age for pension credit) Regulations 2006 SI 2006/214.

  • [2]

    reg 91 Housing Benefit Regulations 2006 SI 2006/213; reg 72 Housing Benefit (Persons who have attained the qualifying age for pension credit) Regulations 2006 SI 2006/214.

  • [3]

    reg 96 Housing Benefit Regulations 2006 SI 2006/213; reg 77 Housing Benefit (Persons who have attained the qualifying age for pension credit) Regulations 2006 SI 2006/214; DLT v Eastleigh BC (HB) [2014] UKUT 242 AAC.

  • [4]

    reg 95 Housing Benefit Regulations 2006 SI 2006/213; reg 76 Housing Benefit (Persons who have attained the qualifying age for pension credit) Regulations 2006 SI 2006/214;

  • [5]

    ST v Sunderland City Council (CH) [2019] UKUT 33 (AAC).

  • [6]

    reg 96(3) Housing Benefit Regulations 2006 SI 2006/213; reg 77(3) Housing Benefit (Persons who have attained the qualifying age for pension credit) Regulations 2006 SI 2006/214.

  • [7]

    reg.4 Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit (Decisions and Appeals) Regulations 2001 SI 2001/1002.