Please remember that your rent is your responsibility. Your rent should be paid in advance, either weekly, fortnightly or monthly.

Transcription

1 Paying your Rent

2 Please remember that your rent is your responsibility. Your rent should be paid in advance, either weekly, fortnightly or monthly.

3 Paying your rent Your rent, your responsibility When you start your tenancy with us you have to sign a Tenancy Agreement. This agreement sets out our responsibilities as your landlord and your responsibilities as a tenant. One of your responsibilities is to pay your rent on time. We cannot afford to let people live in our properties rent-free and we have a responsibility to all those tenants who do pay their rent on time to collect all rent that is due to us. All the homes we own have been bought with a mortgage. So the rent we charge covers the mortgage repayments, as well as the services we provide, the repairs and improvements we carry out to your home and the cost of building new homes. Your rent is charged weekly and is due in advance on the Monday of each week. How to pay your rent By Direct Debit If you have a bank or building society account you can pay by Direct Debit. Rent paid by Direct Debit is paid monthly or weekly in advance. You will need to complete a Direct Debit form and return this to us. We offer a 50 incentive to any customer who makes payment for rent by Direct Debit. Once a completed Direct Debit form has been returned to us and the Direct Debit set up, a schedule of payments will be sent to you to confirm the dates that rent will be taken out of your account. However, you need to keep paying your rent until we set up the Direct Debit. Direct Debit forms You can pick these up from our offices, or call and we will send you one, or you can download a copy from Did you know you can check your rent account at:

4 our website at Please ensure there is enough money in your bank or building society account for payment of rent via Direct Debit. If not, your bank may charge you and we may take action to bring your tenancy to an end. By Allpayments.text Once registered, you are able to pay your rent from your mobile phone anytime, anywhere, using your Allpay payment card and your debit card. To register, complete the form online at To pay by text just text pay and key in rent then the amount you wish to pay e.g (do not use the sign), followed by the last 4 digits of your debit card and press send. You will then receive a confirmation text message. At Post Offices and Pay Point Outlets You can pay by cash, cheque or debit card at any post office using your Rent Payment Card. Your rent account will automatically be credited with your payment in 1-2 working days. You can also pay at any Pay Point Outlet in the High Street using you Rent Payment Card where you see this sign. Please keep all receipts for rent payments in a safe place, as proof of payment will be required if there is a query on your rent account. If you require a Rent Payment Card or a replacement card please telephone our Customer Contact Centre on By post (cheques only) If you pay by post you should send your cheque, payable to Housing Solutions, with your name, property address and rent account number on the back of the cheque. Please do not send cash in the post for security reasons.

5 Please send your cheque to: Housing Solutions, Crown House, Crown Square, Waldeck Road, Maidenhead SL6 8BY. At our offices You can pay your rent at our offices at: Crown House, Crown Square, Waldeck Road, Maidenhead SL6 8BY. Our Cash Office opening times are: Monday 8.45 am to 4.45 pm Tuesday 8.45 am to 4.45 pm Wednesday am to 4.45 pm Thursday 8.45 am to 4.45 pm Friday 8.45 am to 4.15 pm By debit or credit card You can pay your rent over the telephone using a debit or credit card. Please call and have the details of your card and rent account number ready. We accept Mastercard, Maestro, Visa, JCB and Switch cards. You can also make card payments in person at our offices in Maidenhead. You will need to know your card chip and pin number to make payments at our office. Internet Banking To pay via internet banking payments should be made to: Nat West Head Office Collection Account Sort Code Account Number Payments must include your 12-digit tenancy account number as a reference. Allpay Online You can pay via Allpay online. Log on to and enter your tenancy reference number. You will need to have your debit or credit card to enter all the details. Did you know you can check your rent account at:

6 Housing Benefit You may be able to pay some or all of your rent by claiming Housing Benefit from your local council. You can get an application form from our offices or your local council. You must complete the form and return it to your local council. Our Tenancy and Neighbourhood Team can help you do this and can provide advice on Housing Benefit. We can also estimate how much Housing Benefit you may receive. Your local council will ask for evidence to support your application, which you must supply in the time frame provided by the council. Once they have all the details they can process your application and if appropriate award you Housing Benefit to cover all or part of your rent. Ideally this should be paid directly to your landlord. Any Housing Benefit that you receive from your local council is only for paying your rent. Until your claim has been awarded and you are certain of your entitlement, you must continue to make all payments yourself. The benefit provided may not cover all rent payment or service charges. Get your housing benefit claim off to a good start You need to get your application in immediately. It is very difficult to get Housing Benefit backdated. You are able to submit an application up to 28 days before you require your claim. The longer you wait to submit the claim the longer you will have to pay the full rent yourself. Staff at Housing Solutions can help you complete your Housing Benefit form why not do this at your sign up to save time? You must supply evidence to back up your claim. All documents must be the original versions, which must be copied and verified at the Housing Benefit Office.

7 If you do not supply all the evidence within the specified time limit (usually 28 days) your claim will be cancelled and you will have to re-apply as well as make full payment for rent yourself. Every time you have any change in your circumstances you must tell your local council. This could be someone leaving or joining your household. Whatever the change, it may mean you will get more or less Housing Benefit. At Housing Solutions, as soon as we are aware of any changes, we too must inform your local council. Evidence All Housing Benefit applications need to be backed up by evidence. These need to be original documents, copies will not be accepted. Listed below are acceptable forms of proof of National Insurance numbers and proof of identification. Acceptable forms of National Insurance numbers are: P45 or P60; Wage slip; Tax letter; Letters from the Department of Work and Pensions; RD3 National Insurance Card; Bank Statement for self employed persons who pay Class 2 National Insurance contributions. Acceptable forms of identification are: Passport; Driving licence including counterpart; Marriage certificate; Child benefit award letter; UK residence permit; Medical card; Birth certificate; Current utility bill; Bank statement up to 4 weeks old; Did you know you can check your rent account at:

8 Identification card with photo issued by EC/EEA member state; Life assurance or insurance policy; Letter from solicitor / social worker / probation officer / Inland Revenue / Home Office / Benefits Agency. Remember It is your responsibility to apply for Housing Benefit and provide all the supporting evidence to go with it. If you need help doing this, contact our Tenancy and Neighbourhood Team on Checklist for Housing Benefit Claims Types of proof needed of your income, identity and circumstances. Unless you have been on housing or council tax benefit previously, you will need to supply: What is needed National Insurance number What you need to supply (original documents only) One piece of evidence that confirms your National Insurance number. If you have a partner you will have to provide evidence of their National Insurance number. If you are getting Income Support, Income-Based Job Seekers Allowance or Pension Credit, you will also need to supply: Proof of income DWP letter giving you entitlement to income support or Job Seekers Allowance (Income based). If you are NOT on Income Support, Jobseekers Allowance (Income based), or Pension Credits What is needed Proof of earnings What you need to supply (original documents only) For each job: wage slips covering the past 5 weeks, i.e. 5 if paid weekly, 2 if paid monthly, or 3 if paid fortnightly. They must be current and consecutive. If you do not have these, ask for a certificate of earnings from the council and give it to your employer to complete.

9 IF YOU ARE SELF EMPLOYED Latest certified Profit and Loss accounts (unless they are over 12 months old). If you do not have these ask for a certificate of self employed earnings from the council. Proof of other income State benefits and pensions Occupation pensions Department for Work and Pensions notification letter for the current award and amount. A bank statement showing the payments going in. Pay slips. Letter from your former employer. Tax credits HMRC notification letter (all pages). If you are NOT on Income Support, Jobseekers Allowance (income based) or Pension Credits What is needed Proof of other income Maintenance received Other income Student grants / loans Proof of your capital (i.e. savings and investments) What you need to supply (original documents only) Letter from Child Support Agency or a Court Order or a letter from the payer. Letters from the payer showing amount and frequency. Current grant award letter / proof of loan. Current bank statement (mini-statements are not acceptable). They must cover the last two months. Building society pass book. Must cover last two months. Share certificates. National Savings certificates. Premium Bonds. Did you know you can check your rent account at:

10 Documentary evidence confirming other capital declared. Valuation of interest form for other properties owned. Details of other adults living in your home (non-dependants) Documentary proof of your non-dependants gross income (covering the last 2 months). Documentary proof of non-dependants capital (only if the nondependant is working over 16 hours). Some do s and don ts Do provide original documents; Do complete and send in your claim form as soon as possible; Do provide the evidence as quickly as possible and within one month at the latest; Do be accurate and honest with your claim, all local councils can apply fines or take action against you for fraud. Don t delay sending in your claim if you can t provide all the evidence; Don t send valuable items through the post. Take them into the Housing Benefit office where they can be copied and verified. They can also give you a receipt to confirm that you have provided the evidence.

11 Help and Advice We have a dedicated Financial Inclusion Officer who is able to provide support and advice to help you claim Housing Benefit. Based on the information that you provide we can give you an estimate of the amount of Housing Benefit you may receive. This means that until your claim is processed you can pay us any shortfall between the amount of Housing Benefit and rent due. Further help can also be given to assist you with applying for additional benefits to maximise your income. To contact our Financial Inclusion Officer please call Remember Your rent is your responsibility. You will be sent statements of your rent account every three months. Check the statement and make sure it is correct. You can also view your rent account at anytime by going to If you are entitled to Housing Benefit make an immediate application to your local council. If you need help with completing the form contact our Tenancy and Neighbourhood Team. It is your responsibility to apply for Housing Benefit and to supply all the evidence needed to complete the claim. Any Housing Benefit you receive must be used to pay your rent. If you have a problem paying your rent please contact us. We are here to help. You can contact our Tenancy and Neighbourhood Team on Did you know you can check your rent account at:

12 If you would like an audio or large print version of this document please call our offices on Urdu Hindi Gujarati Punjabi Crown House, Crown Square, Waldeck Road, Maidenhead, Berkshire SL6 8BY. freephone: for mobile phone users: fax: Minicom: Open 8am 7pm on weekdays, and from 10am on a Wednesday JAN12