Page content section :
Housing
Payments (rent, etc.)
Making payments
You can request to pay rent by direct debit or standing order or change any existing payment arrangements by calling :
- (01273) 263335 or you can contact us by sending
Housing Payments an e-mail
- See also our payments webpage for details of how to make payments to the council (eg direct debit etc)
Rent refunds
To claim a rent refund please use our :
- On-line rent refund form (requires Adobe Acrobat)
Ways you can pay your rent
- By Direct Debit
- In a Post Office or PayPoint Outlet (by Payment Card)
- At the Council Offices (by cash, cheque, debit or credit card)
- By Standing Order
- Electronically
- By Post (by cheque)
- By Telephone (by debit card or credit card)
- Telephone Banking
By Direct Debit
You can pay your rent automatically by Direct Debit on a weekly or monthly
basis. The Direct
Debit form can be obtained from and returned to any of the Council offices.
Rent payments should
be maintained until your Direct Debit payments have started. You will be
advised in writing of the
first payment date. If you choose to pay on a weekly basis, payments will
come out of your bank
account each Tuesday. If you choose to pay on a monthly basis, payments
will come out of your bank account on the first Monday of each month.
In a Post Office or PayPoint Outlet (by Payment Card)


You can pay your account with a payment card at any Post Office or PayPoint
outlet in the country.
Payments at the Post Office can be made by cash, debit card or cheque. Cheques should be payable to “Post Office Ltd”. PayPoint outlets always accept cash payment, but card and cheque payments are at the discretion of the individual PayPoint outlet. Cheques should be made payable to the outlet in the name they advise.
The single card can be used for three types of payment. When making payment you must tell the operator the type of charge you wish to pay, Housing Rent, Council Tax or Garage Rents. You can pay more than one option during the same visit, but must tell the operator how much you are paying against each. If you lose your card you must let us know at your Local Office, (01273) 263370 for Southwick and Shoreham; (01273) 236680 for Lancing and Sompting, or the Civic Centre Help Point (01273) 263000. We will arrange for a new card to be issued to you as soon as possible. A charge may be made.
At the Council Offices (by cash, cheque, debit or credit card)
A cashiering service is available at the Civic Centre, Shoreham and the Local Offices in Southwick and Lancing. Cash, cheque and debit/credit card payments can be made at these locations:
- Shoreham-by-Sea - Civic Centre, Cash Office
- Lancing - Area Office, Cash Office
- Southwick - Area Office, Cash Office
By Standing Order
You can instruct your bank to pay your rent by Standing Order on a date that is convenient to you, i.e. the date that you get paid. Please contact your Local Office for the Council’s bank account details so you can advise your bank accordingly. This arrangement is solely between you and your bank.
Electronically
You can make a rent payment on-line using our secure payments form.
On the payments form you will be asked for your 'Account Ref.' - here you will need to type in your tenancy number (your tenancy number is a 10 digit number starting with 902) .
Please make sure you have your tenancy number to hand before going into the payments form.
By Post (by cheque)
Please allow 3 working days before your rent is due if you are going to
pay your rent by post.
Cheques should be made payable to ‘Adur District Council’ and
you should write your rent account
reference number on the back. If you have enclosed your rent card with the
cheque, this will be
returned to you by return of post.
By Telephone (by debit card or credit card)
Debit
and credit card payments can now be made over a pre-recorded telephone line,
which is totally confidential. You will need to have your rent account reference
number and card details to
hand when making your payment. This service is available 24 hours a day and
7 days a week.
Tel. (01273) 263458.
Telephone Banking
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Customers who have access to telephone banking can pay their rent in this
way. You should
advise your bank of the Council’s bank account details and your rent
account reference number.
Your bank can then make payments following your telephone instructions. Please
contact your
local office for the Council’s bank account details.
Information
- Rent account number : Your rent account reference number can be found on your rent card. It will have 10 digits and will begin with the numbers ‘902’ (for example, 90201999 0 9). If you do not know your rent account reference number, please contact your local Council office and a member of staff will provide it for you.
- Housing benefit : Any person who is liable to pay the rent can apply for Housing Benefit for assistance. You can pick up a claim form (which also covers Council Tax Benefit) at any of the Council Offices. If you would like information on whether or not you may be entitled to Housing Benefit, please telephone the Finance Department on (01273) 263000.

