Rent

Paying your rent on time and in full is the most important part of your responsibility as our tenant. Rent is a priority bill.

Your rent is due every Monday, one week in advance, or you can pay one month in advance.

How to pay your rent

Direct debit

This is the easiest way for you to pay your rent, you can set up a weekly or monthly direct debit and this goes directly from your bank account to our rent account.

Before your yearly rent increase, we will inform you and give you plenty of notice. We will also update and change your direct debit to reflect your new rent.

To set up your direct debit please call us on 020 8493 7160 or email service@tamilhousing.org.uk

Other ways to pay

• AllPay card – contact us if you need a card (tenants who transferred from Apna Ghar can continue to use their existing card)
• Online at www.allpayments.net using your debit card (please note you will be asked for your tenant reference number)
• Allpay app on your smartphone
• Standing order – set up payments yourself to pay your rent either weekly or monthly
• Electronic bank transfer (quoting your tenant reference and using the bank details below)

TCHA Bank Details

Bank Name: SANTANDER PLC
Account Name: Tamil Community Housing Association
Account No: 10436044
Sort Code: 09-02-22

REF: Your tenant code

About your rent

Under the terms of your tenancy agreement, you are required to pay rent to live in your home.

We set your rent using Government guidelines and review it every year.

If you are a shared owner, you pay rent as well as mortgage repayments to your lender.

The rent you pay covers the cost of:

• repairing, maintaining and upgrading your home
• managing your home
• the community welfare activities we provide, and
• building new homes.

We are responsible for spending the rent we collect in the most efficient and transparent way possible and for delivering value for money.

Your rent includes a service charge for any local services we provide to your home and estate.

Your tenancy agreement will set out which of the following charges apply to your tenancy.

• Basic rent
• Service charges
• Water charge
• Heating and/or hot water
• Other charges

Your rent is due in advance. This is not the same as any rent deposit you may have paid. Rent paid in advance will not be refunded unless your tenancy agreement says otherwise.

If you get Housing Benefit or Universal Credit, these payments are made four/eight weeks in arrears.

When you first sign up to your tenancy, we advise you to pay at least £5 per week into your rent account, so that you can gradually bring it up to a level where you are never in arrears.

Struggling to pay your rent?

You must prioritise paying your rent and service charge to secure your home. If you are struggling to pay your rent, contact us right away.

We are here to support you and we will help you get back on track if you:

• contact us straight away and keep us up to date
• open our letters and return our calls
• work with us to set up a suitable repayment plan, and
• send back our income and expenditure forms in a timely manner.

This shows that you are making efforts to pay your rent and manage your situation.

What happens if I don’t pay?

If you are not paying your rent regularly or you fall into arrears, we will have to take action. We will also take action if you do not stick to your repayment plan.

We will follow our arrears policy and try to work with you. However, if you fail to engage with us or do not keep us updated, this could result in court action.

Court action means the following.

• You will have to pay our legal costs, even if you don’t get evicted.
• You won’t be able to do a house swap or transfer until all the arrears are cleared.
• You could be evicted and still be liable to pay the debt.
• Your council may refuse to rehouse you on the grounds of intentional homelessness.

Please don’t let this happen. We are here to help. Contact us so we can assist you.

Click here for information on our rent arrears policy.