Rent and Service Charges

How is rent decided?

There are two basis on which rent is decided:

• Rent Guarantee agreed for all ex-London Borough of Tower Hamlets homes on 27th March 2000. This will apply until 31st March 2010 and is preset by a formula of inflation plus £2.50 for the years 2000/1 to 2007/8, inflation plus £1.25 for year 2008/9 and inflation only for the year 2009/10. Service Charges are included in the rent guarantee and are not calculated separately.

·       Rent restructured rent. On the 1st April 2002 the Government announced a new rent policy referred to as rent restructuring. This policy aimed at limiting rent rises over the next ten years to inflation plus 1/2 percent and to change the basis on which rent is calculated to a formula which primarily relates to the market value of the property and the average earnings in the locality. It also weights for the number of bed spaces. RSL’s were also able to add up to a maximum of £2 per week per year to the annual inflation increase until rents were in line with the calculated rent restructured rents.The Board agreed to implement this policy for all new homes from 1st April 2002. Service Charges are separately calculated and added to the rent. We will endeavour to keep increases in service charges to the same percentage increase as that for rents but where new services are added after consultation with residents the increase may be greater.

When and why does the rent go up?

The tenancy agreement you sign when you first move in tells you how much rent you should pay.  Rents will then go up annually according to the policies set out above.

Can I get help to pay my rent?

You may be able to get housing benefit to help pay some or all of your rent. It depends on your income, how big your family is and how much you have in savings.  It is worth applying even if you think you won’t qualify. Both the Councils housing benefit office and your THCH Community Housing Officer will give you free advise about the benefits available.  Ask at your local office.

How do I pay?

Your rent is due every fortnight (14 days) on a Monday.  When you first move in you will have been given a Rent Payment Card to help you keep your rent up to date.  THCH are able to offer various payment options, one of them being the payment card, which replace the rent books you may have been used to. You can pay…

• On line - please click here
• At the Post Office – make sure you get a receipt to show that you have paid
• At a pay point outlet – again make sure you get a receipt and remember pay point accepts cash only.
• Through your bank – A standing order tells your bank to pay the rent from your account. Ask at your local THCH office about setting one up. When the rent goes up you will have to change your standing order to the new amount – it won’t happen automatically.  Your rent must be paid in advance at the beginning of each month.
• A Direct Debit – this will allow THCH to collect regular payments from bank account.  Although changes can be made by THCH,  you will be given at least 10 days notice of any change in your payments.  You have the authority to cancel the Direct Debit agreement at any time.
• By post – You can send a cheque or postal order (made out to “Tower Hamlets Community Housing”) to your local THCH office.  Attach a note with your name and address on it – you can put this information on the back of the cheque or postal order as well.  Don’t send cash through the post except by recorded delivery.

How can I check where I am with my rent?

You will get a rent statement every three months.  It tells you how much you should pay and how much you actually paid.  It shows if you owe any money (called “arrears”) or if have paid more then you need (called “pre-paid”).  If want to know how you stand at other times contact your local THCH office and ask for the “current balance” of your account. 

What happens if I don’t pay?

If you get money trouble and fall behind with your rent you can make an agreement with us to pay off what you owe in extra weekly amounts.  But we will take legal action against people who refuse to clear their debt – they may even lose their home.

Get in touch

If you do get behind with your rent please contact us! At THCH we give a good service to all our tenants – including those with money trouble.  It’s in our interest, and yours, to help you pay off any rent debt.  If you are struggling to make ends meet you should get in touch with us straightaway – by keeping the problem to yourself the debt can only get worse.
Expert help

Ask to speak to your Community Housing Officer, a specialist who will give you friendly, free and confidential help. They will:

• Check if you entitled to benefits
• Make sure you’re getting all the right benefits
• Give you any claims forms you may need and help you to fill them in
• Explain any benefit rules you do not understand
• Suggest the best way to manage your cash

Repayment agreement

Together we can work out hoe to pay off what you owe.  You can agree to add an extra amount to your weekly rent until the debt is paid off.  You will never be asked to pay more that we think you can afford.

Legal action

We will always try to help people to get out of rent debt, but we will take swift legal action against anyone who refuses to pay.  We start by telling the tenant officially that we plan to take them to court and that they could eventually lose their home.  This is called a “Notice of intention to seek possession”.  We have wait four weeks after this notice before we can get a date for a court hearing.  If you find yourself in this position you should get in touch with us before these four weeks are up – the action may be cancelled if you made an agreement to pay.

Court hearing

If the tenants still doesn’t do anything, the court will tell them the date of the hearing and give them a chance to explain their circumstances.  Even now it’s not too late to get in touch to get the problem sorted out.

The court will probably order the tenant to pay off the debt with a certain amount each week.  Only if tenant break s this order will they be evict as soon as possible.

Here to help

There is never really need for things to get this far.  By getting touch as soon as you get into money trouble , and by keeping to a sensible repayment agreement, you can avoid problems in the future. Even when things get serious and the courts get involved we still give tenants every chance to sort the problem out.

Regular checks

As well as checking on tenants rent accounts we will be looking at our own costs.  We have tried to forecast how much the service will cost in the future and will send you a report about this. Whenever a service, or what you have to pay for, is likely to change will try to get everyone’s ideas to find out if think you are getting good value for money.  We often do this through surveys and meeting.

Regular meetings with tenants group throughout the year will tell us if the services are up to scratch. You can have your say at any time too – just tell you Community Housing Officer if you think the services could be improved.

Consultation

We will consult with you in a variety of ways depending on which ever is most appropriate for where you live.  This could include:

• Talking to your Residents Group
• Calling a meeting of all residents
• Sending a letter to everyone concerned
• Conducting telephone or postal surveys
• A combination of these