Paying Your Rent
What your rent includes
We write to you every year to advise you of
the amount of rent you should pay. If we change you rent, we
must give you four weeks notice in writing. You will also
receive a rent statement every quarter showing your payments and
balance.
Responsibility for paying
You must pay your rent on time, whichever
method of payment you choose. If you are joint tenants, you
are both responsible, together and separately, for paying the whole
rent. This means that if one tenant does not pay any rent, we
can demand the full payment from the other tenant.
Responsibility for paying
We will provide the following services for
which you will pay a service charge, if applicable:
- Amenity cleaning
- Caretaking
- Cleaning
- Door entry system
- Grounds maintenance
- Landlords lighting
- Heating
If you rent a garage or hard standing you will
be charged for these separately.
How is rent set?
In 2002 the Government introduced a rent
setting system for all councils and housing associations.
Under this system, rents are based on the value of the property,
the number of bedrooms in the property and local earnings. We
now have until 2017 to gradually introduce this new way of working
out future rents. By 2025 the rent for your home should be
similar to rents for other council and housing association
properties for a similar size, location and condition.
How can I pay my rent?
Your rent is due every Monday for the week
ahead. You can pay weekly or monthly, in advance, in one
of the following ways:
You can pay your rent every month, either on
1st, 15th or 25th day of the
month, direct from your bank or building society account.
Most banks will do this free of charge as long as there is enough
money in your account to cover the payment.
You can cancel the direct debit arrangements
at any time. In addition, if your bank or building society
pays us the wrong amount, the amount will be refunded to you.
Collection of rent by direct debit is the
least expensive way for us to collect rent, and it can save you
having to make a journey to our office to pay your rent.
Standing orders can be paid weekly,
fortnightly and by calendar month. After the Council has set
this up on your rent account, you should then manage this, ensuring
payments are for the correct amount and paid on time by your
bank.
You can pay by debit or credit card 24 hours a
day by telephoning our automated telephone payment service on 01279
446600. All major credit and debit cards are accepted with
the exception of American Express and Diners cards. Please
have your debit or credit card and your rent account number to hand
when you ring. If you do not have a touch tone phone, you can
still make a payment over the phone to Contact
Harlow. Please note that a commission charge of 2%
applies on all credit card transactions.
Contact Harlow is open for payments from
9am-4.45pm Monday to Friday. At Contact Harlow you can pay
using:
· Cash
· Cheques
made payable to Harlow District Council
· Postal orders
made payable to Harlow District Council
· All major debit
and credit cards (except American Express)
- At a Payment Point – a shop displaying a
“P” sign
You will need a Post Office payment card to do
this. Please see above for how to obtain a card. Not
all of these pay points accept all methods of payment. We
recommend you check first.
This method of payment is now available and
can be accessed by going into our website http://www.harlow.gov.uk/payments.aspx
and then selecting Housing Rents. Please note, you will need
your housing rent reference number. This is the 9-digit
number starting with 40.
Garage and hard standing
rents
If your garage or hard standing rent is not
included in your household rent you will receive a separate rent
card for this. You can use all the methods of payment stated
in these web pages. We are sorry you cannot pay your garage
or hard standing rent at a Post Office or Payment Point.
It is important to keep your receipts
in a safe place, should proof of payment be required in
future.
What if I am finding it difficult to
pay
If for any reason you think that you will have
difficulties paying your rent, you must contact your rent officer
immediately. Your rent officer will give advice and support
to help you pay your rent and manage your money.
If you regularly miss rent payments the
Council will not hesitate to take legal action, and this could
result in you losing your home. Arrears will not be
tolerated, but every opportunity will be given for you to pay your
rent.
For free impartial confidential advice contact
Harlow Welfare Rights, which is located in the Town Centre at 2
East Gate, Harlow CM20 1ND, tel. 01279 446622.
Housing Benefit
If you are on a low income, you may be
entitled to Housing Benefit, which sometimes is referred to as
‘rent rebate’. Housing Benefit is awarded to help you pay
your rent. It does not cover all service charges and you will
have to pay these yourself.
It is your responsibility to
sort out your claim for Housing Benefit. Original documents,
for example bank statements, will be required to support your
claim. You can make a claim for Housing Benefit and Council
Tax Rebate by filling in a claim form, or if you are on state
benefit, completing the form in the pack that you will be given by
the DWP (Department of Works and Pensions), at the Job Centre Plus
Office.
Advice and help filling out claim
forms can be obtained from Contact Harlow or the Housing Benefit
Department. Please telephone 01279 446633 or email benefits@harlow.gov.uk for more
information.