Rent and other charges

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Rent and other charges

This chapter tells you about how your rent and charges are calculated and the different ways to pay.

It also gives advice on what benefits you may be able to claim to help you with payment and what to do if you get behind with your rent.

It also aims to help you understand the importance of rent payment as well as giving details about our service to you. This includes making sure your rent and other payment records are up to date and easily available, usually in a monthly written statement sent out to you in the post.

It is a usual condition of your tenancy agreement that you pay the rent and other charges weekly in advance and on a Monday.

If you fall into arrears with the rent and/or other charges the council may go to court to ask for a possession order against your home, which could ultimately lead to your eviction.

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Page 1 Your rent 40 2 What your rent pays for 40 3 Changes in rent and charges 40 4 When to pay your rent 41 5 How to pay your rent online 41 - 42 6 Other ways to pay your rent 42 - 44 7 Help with paying your rent 44 - 45 8 Rent arrears 46 - 47 9 What to do about your rent if you are away for a long time 48 10 Your rent statement 48 11 If your rent account is in credit 49

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1 Your rent The weekly total rent charge for your home is made up of the following five elements: • N et rent: the basic charge for your home, depending on its size and location • Service charge: for services provided, such as: estate cleaning, grounds maintenance, communal lighting, door entry system maintenance and lifts • Fuel charges: for heating and hot water where your home is served by district heating • Water rates: for water and sewage services, set by the local water company but collected by us (if you have been provided with a water meter you must pay the water company direct) • Separate charges: for things such as parking spaces and storage, pram/bike sheds and garages.

If you live in warden controlled or sheltered accommodation there may also be enhanced service charges to pay for the additional services you need and receive.

2 What your rent pays for: • • • •

Providing housing services such as repairs and maintenance Looking after the estate Managing your home Any improvements to your home.

3 Changes in rent and charges: • Net rent and other charges are reviewed with any changes applied in April • Water rates are normally increased in April by your water company.

The council will consult with your elected Tenant Council (see the chapter Getting involved in this handbook) before seeking to change your rent and other charges, whereas your water company simply sets a new charge.

We must tell you in writing at least four weeks before the rent changes exactly when it will change and how much it will be. This is called a notice of variation.

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4 When to pay your rent Your rent is due each Monday in advance to cover the following week’s rental payment.

This is a condition of your tenancy.

If it is easier you can pay every two weeks or every month, but you must always pay in advance.

How to work out your monthly rent If you pay every month you can work out the amount of your monthly payments.

Simply multiply your weekly payment by 52 and then divide the answer by 12: £weekly payment x 52 ÷ 12 = monthly rent payment But remember, some years have 53 rent weeks. You can work out your monthly payments for a 53 week year as follows: £weekly payment x 53 ÷12 = monthly rent payment

5 How to pay your rent online You can use our secure online payment system to pay your rent (as well as council tax, rates, parking fines or other service charges and invoices) at www.southwark.gov.uk/payforit Your debit and credit card details will be encrypted (coded) and not retained in the system.

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Security certified and simple We have a security certified system which is bank protected to protect your payments.

Go to Epayments via www.southwark.gov.uk/payforit Select Housing, Rent, Garage and Service Charges from the drop down box.

Information you will need For internet and telephone transactions you need: • Your rent account number (this will act as your payment reference number) • Your debit or credit card number • Your three or four digit security code (back of the credit card) • Your address • Your email contact (optional).

Proof that you paid your rent online • You can print your receipt after your transaction is completed as proof of payment • Payments normally show on your account the next working day.

6 Other ways to pay your rent Direct debit through your bank Contact your bank about this if you are not in receipt of housing benefit.

Standing order Telephone 020 7525 2600 (or contact your Income Officer for a standing order form) or instruct your bank with the following information ready: • • • •

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The council’s bank details: RBS National Westminster Bank Plc Southwark Branch The council’s bank sort code: 62-22-32 The council’s bank account number: 27540022 (L B Southwark Rent) Your ten digit housing rent account reference number (beginning with 5 or 6).

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If you do not have a bank account but would like advice, telephone London Mutual Credit Union on 020 7787 0770.

Swipe card Via Post Offices and PayPoint outlets.

Debit or credit card Please use the automated 24 hour telephone payment line: 0845 6000 611 or pay via www.southwark.gov.uk or telephone your Income Officer.

Monthly payroll deduction If you are in receipt of a pension from or are employed by the London Borough of Southwark, you can have your rent taken directly from your pension or salary monthly.

Please telephone 020 7525 2600 to request a payroll deduction form, or contact your Income Officer to arrange automatic updates when your housing rent changes.

In person At one of the council’s cash offices: • P eckham Cash Office, 19/23 Bournemouth Road Peckham SE15 4UJ • W alworth Cash Office 177/179 Walworth Road Walworth SE17 1RW • M ySouthwark Service Point Ground Floor Peckham Library 122 Peckham Hill Street Peckham SE15 5JR • M ySouthwark Service Point 376 Walworth Road Walworth SE17 2NG • M ySouthwark Service Point 11 Market Place The Blue Bermondsey SE16 3UQ

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By post You can send crossed cheques and postal orders payable to LB Southwark or Southwark Council to: Income Collection Business Unit PO BOX 11767 153-159 Abbeyfield Road Rotherhithe SE16 2BS For postal payments please supply the following on the reverse of the cheque: Your name • Home address • Housing rent reference number.

For further information on rent payment and advice from our helpline call 020 7525 2600.

If you lose your payment card We can send you a new card, usually within seven days, if you contact your Income Officer giving your full name and address.

7 Help with paying your rent Housing benefit is being replaced with a new system called universal credit and a maximum limit is being placed on the total benefits that people can receive.

Universal credit will still provide allowances for rent paid directly to tenants, whilst housing benefit is to be phased out in the years ahead.

Under universal credit it will be your responsibility to pay your rent from this payment and any other income you have.

You may still be able to get help with paying your rent even if you are working.

The Benefits Team gives advice on what you are entitled to and you can contact the team on 020 7525 1880 or visit one of the council’s customer contact points to make an appointment.

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When applying for any benefit please make sure you provide all the supporting documents with your application.

If you have a provisional estimate of what your payments should be it is important that you keep to these payments.

Housing benefit Before universal credit is fully introduced housing benefit will remain to help people with limited income pay their rent.

You may be able to get housing benefit even if you are working. What you can get depends on the following: • How much you and your partner have in income and savings • How many dependent children are living with you – housing benefit is increased for every dependent child living with you • How many grown up children or other adults are living with you – housing benefit is reduced for anyone who is not a dependant, for example, lodgers or children who have left school, as we expect them to pay towards the cost of living in your home • Your weekly rent – but only the basic rent charge. ’Net rent’ and service charges are currently covered by housing benefit • If you get housing benefit and your income or circumstances change, or the income or circumstances of any person living with you change, you must tell the Housing Benefit Office about it • If you get too much housing benefit because you did not tell us about changes, you will have to repay the amount you were overpaid.

Remember – housing benefit still has to be claimed, it is not automatic How to apply To claim housing benefit or council tax benefit you need to fill in and sign a claim form and provide the documents we ask for to support your claim.

For more information please visit our website www.southwark.gov.uk or call us on 020 7525 2600.

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8 Rent arrears If you know you are about to get behind with your rent, or if you are having problems paying your rent, contact your Income Officer on 020 7525 2600.

Your Income Officer can help you by: • Checking to see that you get all the benefits you are entitled to • Advising you on how to organise your money to make it easier for you to pay your rent.

Independent advice You can also get advice on benefits and managing debts from several advice agencies in Southwark, including Citizens Advice: www.southwarkcabservice.org.uk Rent arrears and getting help If you do get behind with your rent (into rent arrears) and have not already contacted your Income Officer about it we will write to you and we will telephone you so that the issue can be dealt with.

We will want you to make an agreement to pay off the arrears by amounts you can afford. You must reply to an arrears letter – do not wait because things will only get worse as the debt quickly mounts up.

We will do all that we can to help you if you are having difficulty paying your rent.

However, if you ignore our attempts to contact you about your arrears, or break an agreement to pay them off, we will take legal steps to gain possession of your home and evict you (remove you from your home).

If you do not pay your rent, you will be breaking your tenancy agreement.

Notice of Seeking Possession (NoSP) Sending you a Notice of Seeking Possession (NoSP) is the first step towards taking your home from you.

If you make an agreement and keep to it we will take no further action.

However, if you do not arrange to pay off the arrears within the following four weeks, we will apply to the court for a possession order to take back your home.

We will also ask the court to order you to pay us the rent you owe.

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There will be a court hearing that you should go to. There is usually an advice service at the court that can give legal and financial advice to tenants being taken to court for rent arrears.

The court can grant us two types of possession order: • A suspended possession order which means that as long as you keep to an agreement to pay off the arrears, we will do nothing more – but if you break the agreement we can apply for a warrant to ask the court bailiff to come and evict you (remove you and your family) from your home • An outright possession order – this means we can evict you without going back to court.

If you do get into difficulty, and rent arrears action follows, we will always tell you in writing about all the stages of the legal action and what is likely to happen.

We will also do all we can to recover the rent you owe.

Even after you are evicted we will try to recover both the rent you owe us and the court costs you built up while you were a tenant.

Some reasons not to get into arrears Apart from risking eviction, being in arrears with rent may stop you: • Gaining credit or a loan – court records are available to lenders for many years • Obtaining a mortgage (building societies and other lenders may ask us for information about your rent) • Moving or transferring to another property or through exchange • Buying your home under the right to buy scheme should you break the conditions of a possession order • Being rehoused if evicted for rent arrears as you may be ‘intentionally homeless.’

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9 What to do about your rent if you are away for a long time If you are going to be away for more than 42 days, for example if you have to go to hospital, you must contact your Income Officer.

You must also pay the rent while you are away and you may do this by claiming housing benefit for the period.

If you go into hospital for more than two weeks, please contact your Income Officer.

10 Your rent statement We will provide you with a written rent statement every month.

This statement lists all the charges due, what you have paid since your last rent statement and the balance on your account.

Check your rent statement against your own payment records. If you think your account balance is wrong, contact your Income Officer and we will look into it and correct it if necessary.

You can ask for a current rent statement from your Income Officer at any time. We will send it to you within seven days. You can also call 020 7525 2600 between 9am and 5pm for an up to date balance of your rent account.

Any overpayment made by you will be returned to you on request.

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11 If your rent account is in credit If your rent account is in credit because you have paid more than necessary you can request a refund from your Income Officer in writing from the following addresses: MySouthwark Service Point Ground Floor Peckham Library 122 Peckham Hill Street Peckham SE15 5JR MySouthwark Service Point 376 Walworth Road Walworth SE17 2NG MySouthwark Service Point 11 Market Place The Blue Bermondsey SE16 3UQ

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