IF YOU OWE RENT YOU PUT YOUR HOME AT RISK

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1 Paying Your Rent

2 IF YOU OWE RENT YOU PUT YOUR HOME AT RISK Paying your rent and service charges is a condition of your tenancy agreement. Your rent is due every Monday, however with our agreement you can pay your rent weekly, fortnightly, four weekly or monthly in advance. LMH can provide free confidential support and advice on all money management and benefit issues to assist you in taking control of your finances. If you do not pay your rent you are putting your home at risk. If you fall behind with your rent payments and do not make and keep to a re-payment agreement to bring your rent account up-to-date LMH will take legal action to recover the debt. The first stage in the legal process will be to serve a Notice Seeking Possession this means that we are now taking steps to take possession of your home due to non-payment of rent. If you do not contact us and take steps to re-pay the debt within 28 days court action will be taken. If we proceed to court we may ask the court for an outright possession order, which means we will take possession of your home within an agreed time unless you clear the debt. The court may grant a suspended possession order this means you can stay in your home as long as you pay the rent and arrears that are set out in the Court Order. If you do not keep to the Court Order, LMH can apply for a warrant to evict you from your home. This is the last resort and we will only do this if all other attempts to assist you to maintain payments have failed. You can apply to have the warrant suspended by the court if you have sufficient reason.

3 WAYS TO PAY YOUR RENT Direct Debit - the easiest way to pay. It can be arranged weekly, fortnightly, every 4 weeks or by calendar month on any date. Customers who have maintained a Direct Debit payment for 6 consecutive months are entered into a quarterly prize draw for,1000, 500 and 250 Rent Card - use your swipe card at any of the 411 Payzone outlets or Post Offices Debit Card - You can use your debit card for payments over the phone. Contact LMH connect or call into one of the local neighbourhood offices. Online - Pay using your debit or credit card on a secure internet payment facility. Visit By Mobile Phone make a payment from your smart phone via the LMH App. To do this you will need to download the application on your smart phone, once registered you will be able to make a payment. By Telephone - You can make a payment by telephone 24/7 by ringing LMH Connect and selecting option two for rents and then option 1. You will need to have your rent payment swipe card and a debit or credit card. By Text - To pay your rent by text log onto to the LMH website - click on pay your rent and then pay your rent by text. Follow the on-line instructions. You will need your LMH rent payment card containing your rent reference numbers and a current Bank debit card.

4 HOW TO TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR RENT Contact LMH immediately if you are having difficulty paying your rent. If we send you any letters, text you or leave you a telephone message regarding your rent please don t ignore it. The earlier you get in touch to let us know there is a problem the easier it will be to work together to resolve. Ensure you know what rent you need to pay, if you are unsure contact us and we can advise you. Tell LMH immediately if you make a claim for Universal Credit. Tell LMH immediately if you have a problem with your housing benefit / Universal Credit claim or if you are sanctioned by the Department for Work and Pensions Report If you have any changes in your income or a change in your family circumstances it could affect your benefit entitlement. You need to report these changes to LMH. If you are in receipt of Housing Benefit you will need to report the changes to Liverpool City Council s Benefit Service by ringing If you are in receipt of Universal Credit you will need to contact the Department for Works and Pensions by ringing If you have any money management or benefit issues please get in touch with us. We can offer you an appointment with a specialist benefit advisor. For further details see Help & Advice.

5 HELP AND ADVICE LMH is committed to ensuring all the relevant support and advice is in place to help our customers make their payments in full and on time. MONEY MANAGEMENT AND BENEFIT ADVISE LMH in partnership with RAISE offer free, independent, confidential, and high quality advice around welfare benefits, debt, and money guidance issues. If you would like an appointment with a benefit advisor contact LMH Connect and ask to speak to a member of the Income Services Team or Welfare Reform Team. The RAISE team offer both home and office appointments. RAISE offer surgery appointments every Thursday morning at the Head Office (see reverse for address) and every Thursday afternoon at LMH North (see reverse for address). WELFARE REFORM CHANGES If you have been affected by welfare reform changes, for example the bedroom tax, Universal Credit and would like some help and advice you can contact our Welfare Reform Team via LMH connect or us at welfarereformteam@liverpoolmh.co.uk

6 WAYS TO CONTACT LMH To contact your Rent Officer ring LMH Connect and ask to be transferred to a member of the Income Services Team. To contact a Welfare Reform Officer ring LMH Connect and ask to be transferred to a member of the team or us at welfarereformteam@liverpoolmh.co.uk If you would like a referral to the RAISE benefit advice team speak to your Rent Officer or a member of welfare reform team and they will be able to arrange this for you. You can call into your local housing office as shown below:- Head Office The Observatory, 1 Old Haymarket, L1 6RA Opening times: Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 5.00pm. Clubmoor Housing Office Clubmoor Community Centre, 181 Townsend Lane, L13 9DY Opening times: Monday to Friday, 9.00am to 5.00pm. Please note, the Clubmoor office is closed on Wednesday from 9.00am to 10.30am for staff training. info@liverpoolmh.co.uk