We pay Housing Benefit directly to a bank account by BACS Direct Credit.
Tell us about a bank account
Change your bank details for Housing Benefit payments
Please follow the link above to tell us if you:
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want to start receiving Housing Benefit payments directly into a bank account, or
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need to change the bank account we pay Housing Benefit into
Why we pay by BACS Direct Credit
Payment by BACS Direct Credit is:
- more secure – cheques are physical documents that can be lost or stolen
- faster – payment is straight to your account, no more waiting for the post or for payments to clear
- more convenient – payments are made into your bank account even if you are busy, unwell or on holiday
- cheaper – you can save on commission if you currently use a money shop to cash your cheques.
Please see our Paying Benefits page for more information about who we pay Housing Benefit to.
If you don't have a bank account
Landlords
If you are a landlord and we have agreed to pay you directly, we expect to pay you directly to a bank account. We will not pay by cheque. If you do not have a bank account we will refuse the request to pay you directly and pay your tenant.
Tenants
If you are a tenant, we will expect you to apply for a basic bank account and let us know the details of the account when it is set up. We can help you apply for a bank account.
You should nominate a bank account of a trusted party (such as a friend or relative) to receive Housing Benefit payments whilst you are waiting for a bank account to be set up.
It is your responsibility to ensure the Housing Benefit paid into a nominated account is made available to you to pay your rent. The council are not responsible for ensuring the account is suitable or for resolving issues with the account holder. If the person who holds the account refuses to give you access we will not re-issue the Housing Benefit again.