Your tenancy agreement will state how often the rent is charged (normally weekly or monthly) and will state when you need to pay your rent.
An example of what it might say is: “You agree to pay the total rent and all other charges due on the first day of each period when it is owed.”
This means that if you pay weekly you should pay every Monday, and if you pay monthly, your payment should cover a month’s rent and be paid on 1st of the month.
In keeping with your tenancy agreement, you should not let your account go into arrears.
An example of an account paying on time (click statement below to view larger image):
An example of an account NOT paying on time (click statement below to view larger image):
You can see that even though Housing Benefit payments are made, the account goes into arrears.
Your account could go into arrears even when you are making regular payments. The reason for this may be because:
- You are in receipt of housing benefit which is paid four weekly in arrears, or
- You have chosen to pay your rent monthly and are not paying for the month ahead when you make your payment.
In order to address this; you will need to do one of two things:
- You can make a one off payment to clear the arrears on your account before your next payment is due
- You can start making additional, regular payments to your account to gradually bring your account up to date. We know that not everyone can make a large payment to their accounts, but by adding £5 or £10 per week to every payment, you will soon be able to pay on time, every time.
It is important that you take steps to ensure that you can pay your rent on time. If you do not pay your rent, you could lose your home.
Please contact us if you would like to discuss options to ensure your rent is being paid on time.
Benefit changes
Housing benefit is now being phased out and replaced by Universal Credit which will be paid directly to you every month. This means that it will no longer be possible for us to identify tenants who are receiving help with payment of their rent. For more information on Universal Credit please see our understanding Universal Credit page.
We also provide free online help with jobs and training advice for our tenants and help with rent arrears and benefits.