Housing

Conditions of Tenancy - Chapter 5

Rent

This section tells you how to pay your rent and what we will do if we do not receive your payments.

Paying rent

5.1 You must pay the rent and all other charges for the property on time. Other charges include, for example, service charges and charges for heating and garages.

5.2 You must pay your rent every 2 weeks, 1 week in arrears (for the week passed) and 1 week in advance (for the week to come) or at any other time we agree to. You can pay every month by arrangement through your bank.

5.3 If you are a joint tenant, you are jointly and individually responsible for all the rent and all other charges when they are due. This means that if the other joint tenants do not pay their share of the rent and charges, you must pay all of the rent and other charges.

5.4 If you receive housing benefit, you must tell the benefit service and your local housing office immediately about any changes which may affect your entitlement to housing benefit.

5.4a You are responsible for filling in and sending us your housing benefit claim forms, and telling us if your circumstances change. If you are not sure about how to fill in these forms, you can contact your local area housing office or a citizens advice bureau.

5.5 You are also responsible for all rent and other costs, such as court costs and rechargeable repairs, which you owe from the past. If you were a joint tenant, you will still be responsible, even after the other tenants have left the property.

5.5a Some tenants pay for extra services with their rent, for example, a concierge or landlord-controlled heating. We will tell you if this applies to you. Some of these charges are not covered by housing benefit payments so you may be responsible for paying them.

5.6 If you do not pay your rent, we may go to court and ask for a possession order to evict you from your home and a money judgement order to recover your debts. We will charge you for taking you to court. You must pay this charge in line with the court order.

5.7 Where legally possible, we may take any money you owe us from any money we owe you.

Rent arrears

5.8 If you have rent arrears (fail to pay your rent), this may affect your eligibility to apply for a transfer to different accommodation or to receive an offer of different accommodation if you have already registered for a transfer.

5.8a If you have rent arrears and would like to move home, we will discuss with you the best way to pay off your rent arrears to prevent any delays or your application being refused.

5.8b We consider every request individually, but it would be unusual for us to agree to a transfer for tenants who have rent arrears.

5.8c You must repay any outstanding rent before we agree to you exchanging your home.

5.8d If you break a possession order for rent arrears, we will consider you to be a 'tolerated trespasser', which may cause problems or delays with your right-to-buy application.

5.9 We will make a reasonable administrative charge for providing credit references for you. We will not provide a reference until you have paid this charge in full.

5.10 If you owe us money for rent or other charges when you leave the property, you must make arrangements with us to pay the debt. You may not be able to have another council home until you do. This may also affect your ability to be rehoused by another social landlord.

5.10a If you have difficulty paying your rent, please contact us or the citizens advice bureau immediately. You may be entitled to housing benefit or other benefits. We will do all we can to advise and help you.

5.10b A possession order or money judgement order may affect your ability to get credit in the future.

5.10c If you are evicted for owing rent, we do not automatically have to rehouse you. It may also affect your ability to be rehoused by another social landlord.

Changes to your rent

5.11 We may change your rent at any time. We will tell you about any change in rent at least 28 days before the change, but we have the right to change your rent even if you do not receive this notice.