How and when payment is made

Payments will usually be sent on the dates below, and should be in the bank or building society account on the Friday of that week. Housing Benefit is paid by BACs every 4 weeks, in arrears.

Payment schedule 

The table below shows the dates that Housing Benefit payments are due 

Date Payment Sent

Period the benefit covers

14 April 2026

23 March 2026 to 20 April 2026

12 May 2026

20 April 2026 to 18 May 2026

9 June 2026

18 May 2026 to 15 June 2026

7 July 2026

15 June 2026 to 13 July 2026

4 August 2026

13 July 2026 to 10 August 2026

1 September 2026

10 August 2026 to 7 September 2026

29 September 2026

7 September 2026 to 5 October 2026

27 October 2026

5 October 2026 to 2 November 2026

24 November 2026

2 November 2026 to 30 November 2026

22 December 2026*

30 November 2026 to 28 December 2026

19 January 2027

28 December 2026 to 25 January 2027

16 February 2027

25 January 2027 to 22 February 2027

16 March 2027

22 February 2027 to 22 March 2027

* Payment will be issued early due to the Christmas close down

Council Tax Support

If you are entitled to Council Tax Support, then your entitlement will be credited to your Council Tax bill for the relevant financial year.

Housing association tenant payments 

Housing Benefit payments can be paid to you or direct to your landlord. 

Private tenant payments

In most cases, you will receive the payment and you will have to make arrangements to pay rent to the landlord yourself. 

Payments direct to landlord

In exceptional circumstances, we may decide to make payments to your landlord, but this will only happen if there are compelling reasons for us to do so such as:

  • if you have rent arrears, in most cases 8 weeks or more rent
  • if you are unlikely to pay your rent
  • if you are likely to have difficulty managing your finances.

If we decide to make payments to your landlord, this can be reviewed at a later date and the decision may change.

Payment schedules for landlords

If you are a landlord, you can view your payment schedules online by registering for a Council Tax online account.

Register for an online account Log in to your online account