The amount you pay is made up of a rent payment and a service charge.

Your rent payment covers:

  • the cost of repairing, maintaining and managing your home

  • any loans we took out to build or purchase your home

  • an amount towards future improvements and

  • other costs, including any plans to build new homes.

We normally review your rent every year and apply the Government’s rent-setting rules to any changes.

Your service charge covers additional services provided to your building or estate – for example, cleaning or gardening.

We will always give you at least four weeks notice of any change in your rent and service charge, for weekly tenancies or 1 month for monthly tenancies.

How to pay

If you have a weekly tenancy, your rent is due every Monday, one week in advance. Alternatively, you can opt to pay one month in advance.

If you have a monthly tenancy, your rent is due on or before the first calendar day of each month, one month in advance.

To convert your weekly rent into monthly payments, you will need to multiply your weekly rent by 52, then divide it by 12.

Example: If your weekly rent is £139.11, then your monthly rent is £602.81 – calculated as (£139.11 x 52)/12.

If you need help to work this out, please call the office.

Housing Benefit and Universal Credit

You are responsible for your rent payments. However, we can help you to check if you can claim the housing element of Universal Credit or Housing Benefit to assist with your rent payment.

You will need to claim your benefit online and renew your claim regularly, as well as reporting promptly if your income or household members change, or if someone turns 18.

Housing Benefit is usually paid every four weeks in arrears, while Universal Credit is paid monthly, in arrears. With universal credit the first payment is normaly after 5 weeks.

Rent statements

We will post or email you a copy of your rent statement every six months – usually with our newsletter.

Rent arrears

If you have problems paying your rent, you must contact us immediately. We will be sympathetic and will offer to help you by:

  • checking you are getting all the benefits you are entitled to
  • working with you on better ways to manage your money
  • putting you in touch with a specialist debt advisory service, and
  • agreeing a payment arrangement to repay your arrears.

However, if you keep getting behind with your rent and you fail to keep to your agreement to pay, we will take legal action against you. This could result in you losing your home.

There are more details about the action we can take in your Tenants’ Handbook. [Link to copy of handbook to download]

Be aware that if you leave your home without providing a forwarding address, we will use a specialist tracing agency to find your new address and pursue outstanding arrears.