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Ways to pay housing rent

You can pay your rent and other housing charges:

If you are employed by us, you can have your rent deducted directly from your pay. Contact Housing for more information.

Online

You can pay your rent online. Make sure you have your housing rent reference number to hand. Payments received after 8:20pm will be credited to your account the next working day. Your receipt is emailed to you if you give an email address.

Pay your housing rent

By direct debit

Paying by direct debit gives you a choice of how often you pay:

  • weekly
  • fortnightly
  • four weekly
  • calendar monthly - on the fifth of the month

Check with your bank or building society before completing a direct debit mandate. The ability to pay by direct debit may be affected by the type of bank account you have.

It takes a minimum of 14 days before a direct debit can start. You should discuss with your Housing Officer what payments you need to make before your direct debit starts to avoid your account going into arrears. When your direct debit is set up we’ll write to confirm the amount and date the payments will be taken.

All accounts are automatically checked 14 days before each payment is requested. Your payments are recalculated if there are any changes to your rent account like:

  • any additional payments (made by other methods)
  • changes to rent, or
  • your entitlement to Housing Benefit

If your payments change we'll write to you and let you know the new amount.

If you're expecting a change to the direct debit amount you pay but don't get a letter, contact Housing to check.

If there are any changes in the two weeks before your direct debit they won't be picked up in time to change your payment. These changes will come into effect on the following payment. If this will cause any problems, please contact Housing.

If your rent account is in arrears when you ask to pay by direct debit, you may still be able to pay by this method. You should discuss it with a Housing Officer.

Once your direct debit is activated, you don’t need to complete another instruction if your payment changes. We’ll write to you in advance and tell you of any changes. Your direct debit changes automatically.

Direct debit payments are updated to your account on the agreed dates.

If you'd like to pay by direct debit please complete an instruction and return it to your local Housing office in person or by post. 

Once received your Direct Debit will be setup.

Direct debit instructions:

By standing order

You can set up a standing order with your bank or building society, so your rent is automatically taken from your bank account.

You can pay by standing order:

  • weekly
  • fortnightly
  • four weekly
  • calendar monthly - on the first of the month

Check with your bank or building society before completing a standing order form. Some banks or building societies don’t allow weekly, fortnightly or four weekly payments. Some types of bank account aren’t suitable for standing order payments.

You should also contact Housing to tell us you've chosen to pay by standing order. This is because there is an administrative lead in period when payment arrangements need to be agreed.

Make sure only your eight digit rent reference number, beginning with a “7”, is quoted in the rent reference number line. Otherwise your payment may not be automatically transferred to your rent account, and your rent account could go into arrears.

You’re responsible for telling your bank or building society if you need to change the amount of your standing order, for example if your rent increases. If you’d like this to happen automatically, consider paying by direct debit. 

Payments are updated to your account seven to nine working days after the money leaves your bank account.

Standing order mandates:

You can also get these from your local Housing office where we can help you complete them.

By phone

You can pay by card over the phone by calling the automated telephone number 0300 456 0634 (selecting option 2, rents).

Please ensure that you have your payment reference number to hand before phoning

At an Aberdeenshire Council payment point

You can pay your rent by bank card at an Aberdeenshire Council payment point using your rent card. Payments will be updated to your rent account that night.

At a post office or PayPoint

You can pay by bank card, cash or cheque at any post office or shop displaying the PayPoint sign.

You should bring your rent card with you when paying rent and other housing charges at one of our offices, post office or PayPoint outlets. You can’t pay without it.

Allow 3 to 5 working days before your payment is credited to your rent account. Keep your receipt as proof of payment. The post office or PayPoint outlet won’t know the balance in your rent account or any housing benefit entitlement, so the receipt won’t show the balance in your rent account.