I am on a low income and can’t afford my rent
You should first contact our Debt Advisor or a member of staff from our Income Team and let us know about your difficulties. They will try to help you and assess whether you might be entitled to Housing Benefit.
Rent Arrears Policy Statement
Aim and Objective
The aim of the rent arrears policy is to maximise rental income so as to ensure a high level of service delivery to tenants can be maintained.
Whilst dealing firmly with tenants who have rent arrears, the Council will offer appropriate advice and adopt a supportive approach to those tenants experiencing financial difficulties. A payment culture will be endorsed and arrears prevention emphasised through early contact, good welfare benefits/money advice and debt counselling.
We will offer tenants flexibility in order to be sensitive to individual circumstances, whilst achieving a high level of consistency on rent arrears action by simplifying internal procedures.
It is the tenant's responsibility to ensure that rent is paid fortnightly in advance. Where payment is made by housing benefit, the tenant must ensure that all relevant information needed for the assessment and payment of their claim is provided promptly to the Council's Housing Benefit section. The tenant is also responsible for chasing up their claim if any delay is experienced.
Arrears Management
We will ensure that action is taken at the earliest possible stage in order to control arrears and prevent debts increasing.
Tenants are encouraged to contact us if they are experiencing difficulties in paying their rent. We will then offer appropriate advice, which may assist in maximising their income and/or managing their finances.
We will always attempt to contact tenants who fall into arrears at the earliest opportunity to discuss their arrears and individual circumstances.
If appropriate we will offer repayment terms if the arrears cannot be cleared in full. This will allow a tenant to pay their weekly/monthly rent plus an additional amount, dependant upon their financial position.
Garage Arrears
It is expected that tenants will make prompt payment of garage rent and where rent is not immediately paid, the garage will be re-possessed.
Tenants with current rent arrears will not be offered a garage tenancy.
If a tenant falls into arrears on their property, and has a garage, the garage is likely to be re-possessed.
Legal Action
We will take legal action to recover possession of a property if a tenant fails to pay the rent or does not maintain an agreement to reduce their arrears. A possession order will be seen as a last resort, if all other ways of reducing the arrears have failed. If we take legal action we will seek to recover the costs of this action from the tenant.
What you can expect from us
-
Early contact and action
-
Correct and up to date rent account information
-
Appropriate benefit advice
-
Consistent and fair approach
-
Equality to all tenants
*call charges may vary depending on your network