1. What are rent arrears?
Rent arrears are what you owe in unpaid rent, caused by late payments, missed payments or part payments.,
2. I am having difficulty paying rent. What can I do?
Contact your Area Housing Manager immediately, who will give advice on how to clear your arrears by agreeing a repayment plan with you,
3. How can I pay my rent?
Visit the How to pay section of the website
4. How many rent free weeks are there?
Rent is usually charged on a weekly basis. There are normally 48 rent paying weeks each year - with two rent free weeks during the Christmas period and two rent free weeks during March.
The Financial Year runs from the beginning of April to the end of March, but you have 4 ‘rent-free’ weeks. However, if you are in arrears, then the ‘free’ weeks are not applicable, as you have to use these weeks to pay off your arrears. If you terminate your tenancy prior to the ‘rent-free’ weeks, Acis Group will give no automatic refund.
During the Financial Year, you will receive statements of your rent account showing your rent payments and any outstanding balance at that time.
5. What is Housing Benefit and how do I apply?
Housing Benefit is help for anyone on a low income who pays rent. The amount you get depends on the size of your household, how much your rent is and how much income and savings you have. You apply by completing a form that is available from our offices or by contacting WLDC.Click here to visit the Help with Paying Your Rent section
6. I am in debt and having difficulty paying my rent, can you help me?
Paying your rent should be given a high priority. The consequences of falling behind with your rent can be very serious.
If you have problems managing your money, we can advise and help you. We will take firm action against those tenants who have the means to pay their rent but fail to do so.
It is important not to allow your arrears to build up as the debt will not disappear. Please seek advice at the earliest opportunity.
There are many ways we can help you if you are in genuine financial difficulty with your rent:
- Providing advice about benefits you could receive.
- Providing help through debt counselling.
- Making an arrangement to pay off arrears by instalments.
- Suggesting other payment methods.
7. I have just received a Notice of Seeking Possession. What does this mean?
This means you are in arrears and we are considering legal action. You have 28 days to contact us to make an agreement to pay your arrears. Contact us as soon as you receive the Notice. It is not too late to avoid further action. If you do not contact us and your arrears are not reducing we will consider court action. This could result in you losing your home.
If you do not pay off your arrears, we will write to tell you that we intend to take further action. We also offer help on benefits and debt management.
A legal Notice Seeking Possession will be issued telling you that we intend to ask the Court to end your tenancy if:
- You do not contact us to discuss your situation.
- The level of arrears is increasing.
- You fail to keep to any arrangements you have made with us.
We will look to take court action if you fail to respond to a Notice Seeking Possession or do not keep to any agreement to reduce the arrears we will take court action to gain possession of your home.
At the court hearing the Judge will listen to the facts and decide whether to grant a possession order. As well as putting your home at risk, the County Court Judgement (CCJ) will affect your ability to get credit in the future.
Normally the court grants a suspended possession order. If you do not pay as the Judge orders, your tenancy will end.
8. What happens at court?
If we are making a possession claim against you, we will seek a Possession Order that may not lead to you losing your home straight away. You may be allowed to stay provided you pay an agreed amount off your arrears each week. You will also incur court costs of £150. If you do not pay the amounts specified by the court, you may lose your home. Contact us for advice, or get independent advice from the Citizens Advice Bureau or a solicitor.
9. If I don’t pay after a Court Order will I be evicted?
If you fail to keep to the Order, we can apply to the Court for an Eviction Warrant. We will contact you before we do this to see if we can help, but tenants who persistently do not pay their rent will be evicted.
If you do not pay off your arrears in line with the Court Order we will ask the court to evict you.
Before asking the court to evict you, we will carefully consider your circumstances and ability to pay. We will also offer advice on debt management and benefits and encourage you to seek further help.
The Court Bailiff will deliver a Warrant of Eviction telling you the date and time at which he will attend to evict you.
10. What happens if I leave my property owing rent?
When giving up your tenancy, you should ensure your rent account is clear.
If you are unable to clear your account, we will still expect you to repay them after you have gone. We will contact you during your Notice Period to discuss repayment.
After you have left, if your arrears are not being paid, we will write to you to request payment. If payments are not then made, the case will be referred to a Debt Collection Agency that will write and visit to recover the debt.
We will also consider legal action to recover any outstanding rent arrears.
If you owe arrears from a former tenancy, this may prevent you from being re-housed by us or another landlord in the future.