How will you be paid?
Council Tenants
Your Housing Benefit will be paid directly to your rent account each week. If your benefit does not cover all of your rent, you will need to arrange to pay the extra amount separately.
Private and Housing Association Tenants
We will normally pay your Housing Benefit to you, every 4 weeks in arrears. The easiest way is by bank transfer (BACS), so that your money will be available right away. You can tell us your bank details on your claim form, or download a payment form below.
BACS payment form (PDF 43.1KB) 
If you do not have a bank account which accepts BACS payments, we can also send you cheques.
Paying benefit to your landlord
If you pay your rent to a Housing Association, you can choose on your claim form whether we pay you or your Housing Association. If you are paid housing benefit under the Local Housing Allowance scheme, we can only pay your landlord if:
- you are likely to find it difficult to manage your own finances
- this will assist you in securing or retaining a tenancy
- we think that you are unlikely to pay your rent
- you are more than 8 weeks in rent arrears
- we have paid your landlord in the past because of rent arrears
- deductions are being taken from an income-related benefit to pay off your rent arrears
If you want us to start paying your benefit directly to your landlord, please contact us. We consider all requests on a case by case basis, so please give us as much information as you can to support your request. You can download a request form below to help you to give us the information we need.
Direct payments to landlord form (PDF 57.7KB)
Contact us
Telephone: 0300 300 8306
Email: benefits@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk
Please quote your benefit claim reference in all correspondence – your claim reference is either an 8 digit number starting with 900, or a 5 digit number. You can find it on any letter we’ve sent about your Housing Benefit or Council Tax Support.