How Will My Benefit Be Paid?Housing benefit
If you rent your property from a registered social landlord, sometimes called a housing association then we can pay the benefit to either you or your landlord.
If you pay your rent to a private landlord, benefit will normally be paid to you. After 7 April 2008 it will only be possible to pay your benefit direct to your landlord in special circumstances. To find out more about this see Local Housing Allowance Safeguards Policy.
Payment to your landlord
We can arrange to pay your housing benefit to your landlord. If you wish you to pay your landlord then you will need to complete an authorisation form. This will also need to be signed by your landlord. The housing and council tax benefit claim form has a section for you to request this or you can download a form authorising direct payment to your landlord (pdf 60kb).
Payment to you
We can arrange to pay your housing benefit directly into your bank, Post Office or building society account and in exceptional circumstances we can pay by cheque. However, we recommend that it is paid directly into an account because
- It is a safe and secure method
- It is convenient for you
The housing and council tax benefit claim form has a section for you to provide us with your bank details or you can download the benefit payment details form (pdf 56kb).
If your claim is already in payment and you wish to change the method by which we pay you, please complete and return the relevant form or contact a member of staff.
If you do not have a bank account you can find out more information on Local Housing Allowance – Information about bank accounts.
To view pdf documents you will need to have Adobe Reader installed on your computer. You can download Adobe Reader here for free.
Council Tax Benefit
If you are awarded either council tax benefit or second adult rebate, it will be credited to your council tax account and you will be issued with a revised bill, together with payment details. If you have made payments and your account is now in credit, a refund claim form will be issued.
Contact Us
By telephone
020 7525 1880 - housing and council tax benefit
020 7525 1850 - council tax
By post
Council Tax Section
London Borough of Southwark
P.O. Box 782
Bromley
BR1 3YE
Please indicate which department your query is for.
In person
Bermondsey One Stop Shop
Spa Road
Bermondsey
SE16 3QN
Peckham One Stop Shop
Ground Floor
Peckham Library
122 Peckham Hill Street
SE15 5JR
Walworth One Stop Shop
151 Walworth Road
London
SE17 1RY
Dulwich Area Housing Office
41-43 East Dulwich Road
Dulwich
SE22 9BY
By email
Housing/council tax benefit: souhousingbenefitsuk@liberata.com
Council tax: soucounciltaxuk@liberata.com |