When & how is RA paid?

Hi all,
I let my apt out at the start of this month to someone receiving rent allowance. I received the deposit no problem and was told I would be getting the first months rent mid month.
Mid month came and went and I heard/received nothing so asked my tenant and was told it was actually the end of the month & this was the norm. is this right?
At the moment they are technically living there rent free and i'm worried that if the cheque is delayed/the process of chasing this up could be seriously troublesome?
should i have received something in writing from the council to confirm when and how i will paid? In the form i filled out I didn't have to put my bank a/c details so receiving a cheque sounds like the feasible option? Also i've heard some people get it paid directly into their account as opposed to getting a cheque(by the time i get a chance to lodge cheque and it clears will be into 1st/2nd wk of the following month so means always in arrears?)
any advice?
thanks

Hi as far as I know it gets paid to tenant and they give it to you

net64

Many threads on here related to this, have a look.

Getting paid directly to your account is an option. It is not always offered however, depends on the authority that is paying you and the person dealing with your case individually. They may contact you about this directly, however they may also pay the tenant directly as is default.

Do not treat an RA tenant any different to a normal tenant! Would you allow a stranger to walk off the street, hand them keys to your house, and hope they pay you eventually for rent?

I always get the deposit, and the first months rent into my hand before I hand over keys - wether its for RA or RAS or a normal tenant.

If you don't do this you are setting yourself up for worry and to have your tenant "change their mind" about living there after a few weeks.

Good Luck.

My experience is that EHB tenants have to wait until the end of the month for their rent payment - good idea to get the nam and number of the CWO (community welfare officer) and check all well with your tenant. some cwo's will speak to you others will not. no harm in checking

Are you talking about Rent Supplement from the HSE or Rental Accommodation Scheme from the Local Authority?

Rent Supplement, as others said, is generally paid directly to the tenant but some areas can make payment to the landlord if the tenant agrees.

If rent supplement is paid every calendar month, then it is issued at the end of the month, so would issue this week for the month of April - although the claim may not yet have been decided by the CWO (there can be backlogs depending on the area involved).

As an aside, when your tenant paid you the deposit, did you not ask for (and get) a month's rent in advance? The tenant would not be living "rent-free" if you did.

Rent allowance

thanks for all your replies. I didn't actually realise there were different schemes (RA / RAS etc) so not sure what they are on. This is part of my worry that I know so little about the schemes themselves and they aren't telling me much.
I received a deposit and on the day of the key/rent exchange was told the officer they were dealing with said I would be paid in two weeks (so mid month) so asked for the two weeks to be paid by them and agreed to reimburse them if the office back paid me. But mid month came and went and heard/received nothing so asked the tenant about it and was told it would be end of the month that is standard - I am just worried because this is my first time doing this that because I haven't received anything in writing from any office, that now my 'cheque' is apparently due this week that I am going to be chasing it up for weeks. (so to clarify they paid rent up until the 15th because they told me that's when I would be paid, so since then they are living there rent free)