How we pay your Housing Benefit

We usually pay Housing Benefit on a Monday except for bank holidays. It can take up to three days for some banks to process payments. Please wait until Wednesday evening before contacting us about missed payments.

Housing association tenants

We pay your benefit four weeks in arrears into your landlord’s bank account.

Private tenants

If your benefit is paid to you, we pay it four weeks in arrears into your bank account. We do not pay this benefit by cheque so you will need to register for a basic bank or credit union account to receive it.

If your benefit is paid to your landlord, we pay it four weeks in arrears into their bank account. We can also pay it directly to your landlord if you are:

• in eight weeks or more rent arrears
• unlikely to pay the rent or have difficulty managing your finances
• vulnerable

We will end your entitlement to Housing Benefit if:

• the person claiming it dies
• your Housing Benefit entitlement reduces to nil, for example due to an increase in income
• your Housing Benefit is suspended and you don’t respond to our request for information within one calendar month
• you move out of North Somerset

If we suspend or end your claim, we will tell you what we have done. You can appeal against our decision.

You must tell us about any changes you think might affect your Housing Benefit. If you don’t, you may receive too much or too little, which could result in an overpayment.

Don’t wait for us to review your claim. You must notify us of any changes in your household’s circumstances within one month of the change.