If you are falling behind with your rent payments, help is available. It could save you from putting your home at risk. It is important you contact us to talk about your options.
Call your local housing hub on 020 8825 5387 to find out about:
- help from our financial inclusion advisors to claim for benefits
- budgeting support
- access to independent debt advice
- different ways to pay
- a range of other support
If you cannot pay the rent you owe in full, we can look at affordable repayments. This may mean paying an extra amount with your rent each week or month until the debt is paid off.
If you do not pay your rent or keep to an agreed arrangement to repay the money you owe, we will issue you with a written notice and take legal action. This could end with you losing your home.
Discretionary housing payment
If you get housing benefit or Universal Credit housing costs, and find you are in financial difficulty due to a shortfall between your benefits and rent, you can apply for a discretionary housing payment (DHP).
Local welfare assistance
The local welfare assistance team can look at your circumstances and your finances and may make a payment to reduce your arrears if you are suffering hardship. This benefit is paid from a fixed yearly fund and is not awarded to everyone who claims it. Read more about local welfare assistance.
Other help available
If you are not on benefits already and your income has reduced or stopped, you may be entitled to apply for these two benefits:
Find free confidential advice on the Money Advice Service website
Keeping in touch with you via SMS
We are re-introducing our SMS text messaging service. If you have provided us with a mobile number, we may use this to provide you with important service updates in relation to your tenancy rent account such as:
- rent and service charge reminders
- appointment confirmations
- links to surveys
This is an additional service to ensure that we can contact you when phone calls are not convenient. It is a one-way service, and you will not be able to reply to the automated messages. You will continue to receive letters and phone calls from us as normal and can contact your Housing Hub using the existing channels.
This service will help us to keep you informed about your rent account and allow for services to be delivered more efficiently.
If you would like to opt-out of this service, please contact your housing hub in writing or via email.
For full details on how we use your data see our privacy policy.