We are proud of our homes and care about the people who live in them. The rent you pay helps to make sure:

• Your home is well serviced and remains up to date.
• We keep your neighbourhood clean and tidy
• We provide you with access to our 24/7 Customer Service Centre when you need it.

To help us do this, it’s important you pay your rent and you pay it on time. It is a condition of your tenancy that your rent is paid each week in advance. You may want to pay your rent monthly which is fine, providing it’s still in advance.

What happens if I don’t pay?

Your rent is legally considered to be a priority bill and should be paid before other bills such as gas, electric and water changes. Not paying your rent on time can not only affect your credit rating, but you may lose your home if you fall behind.

We know times can be tough and people struggle to pay their bills which is why we follow a firm but fair procedure when it comes to missed rent payments or rent arrears.

It’s really important that you get in touch with us as early as possible to discuss any difficulties and arrange an affordable repayment plan based on your income and expenditure, we’re here to help you. If we don’t hear from you and you don’t respond to any of our attempts to contact you, then we may start legal action and the cost of this will be recharged to you.

We can refer you to our Affordability Officer to check that you are receiving all the benefits you are entitled to.

Struggling with payments? 

If you find yourself falling behind with your rent, it’s important you work with us to deal with the situation. We can speak to you by telephone or visit your home to work out repayment options if you are finding it tough. If you are in arrears:

• Don’t ignore the problem.
• Don’t ignore our letters, telephone calls, texts or emails regarding rent arrears.
• Don’t borrow money from door-to-door or payday lenders as it can make the problem worse. If you have borrowed money from a doorstep lender, don’t have a signed repayment agreement, don’t seem to be reducing the amount you owe or are starting to feel intimidated by your lender, you may have borrowed money from an illegal lender. For support and advice visit the Stop Loan Sharks website.

Get in touch

Either contact our Income Collection Team on 0800 529 8789 or get in touch with our Affordability Officer, Cath Stone on 07974 751 084.