Set up direct payment for tenant's housing costs to landlords
If you’re a private landlord and your tenant gets Universal Credit, you can apply to get their housing amount paid directly to you. You can ask to set up a direct payment when a tenant owes more than two months' rent or if Universal Credit contacts you about direct payments.
Before you start
To set up a direct payment of a tenant’s housing costs, you must be a private landlord with a tenant in one of these two categories:
- they are now eligible for Universal Credit to pay their housing costs
- they’re getting Universal Credit for housing and owe you at least two months’ rent
You must confirm:
- your name
- your address
- your email
- your bank or building society account information
- tenant’s name
If your tenant owes two months’ rent or more, you’ll also need to confirm:
- address rented to the tenant
- tenancy status as single or joint
- how often the tenant pays rent
- how much rent the tenant owes
Privacy Notice
- Privacy notice for setting up direct payment of a tenant's housing costs to a landlord
Additional information
For each tenant, you can include a reference number with up to 16 characters. You can use digits and letters. The reference number will identify each payment you receive for a tenant.