Rent Service Standard

What you can expect from us

To receive a rent service where we:

  • provide you with advice on making a universal credit or housing benefit claim when we sign you up to your new tenancy
  • send you a rent statement every 3 months
  • provide a range of payment methods to make it easier for you to pay:
    • any day direct debits
    • standing order
    • online payment options
    • swipe cards
    • 24hr payment line
  • offer you the option of managing your rent account on-line using our My Account service which will include being able to use this to:
    • view and print rent account statements
    • raise queries and receive responses to these
  • offer you help and advice on managing your money and claiming welfare benefits
  • send you an arrears letter if you are 2 weeks in arrears
  • inform you in writing if we are taking legal action for rent arrears
  • help you to apply for an alternative payment arrangement/third party payment from your universal credit, whenever you request this, or it might be of help to you
  • provide you with a dedicated Income Officer to help you manage your rent account, who will:
    • be allocated to you when you sign up to your new tenancy
    • visit you within 6 weeks of you moving into your new home
  • arrange to visit you at home if you are unable to come into the office to see us
  • advise you of any change to your rent in writing at least 28 days before this is made
  • keep you informed of any changes to the service that will affect you
  • take into account any vulnerability within your household and make reasonable adjustments where required

We will know when we are getting it right by:

  • learning from what you tell us about our rent service by using your feedback from surveys, complaints and compliments to improve this
  • working with you to help us design improvements to our services you have told us you want to see