Quayside Offices, Dock Rd, Ardrossan, KA22 8DA

Money Matters

Tenant Services
MONEY MATTERS
HOW RENTS ARE SET

Under a Scottish secure tenancy, we must set what we consider to be reasonable rent, which will meet our costs. We are committed to housing those on low incomes. and we aim to keep rents at levels which avoid those on low incomes depending on Housing Benefit. We estimate running costs over the coming year. We then work out what we need to raise from rents to cover these. We look at our rents in January and February each year to put any increases into practice on 1 April. We give you a full 28 days’ notice of any change in your rent.

SERVICE CHARGES

We maintain shared areas such as landscaping or paving, stairs, closes to flats, TV aerials, door-entry systems. To pay for this, we set service charges every year. You have to pay these with your rent, and give us the money we need to give these services. We only charge you for the cost of giving these services and we look at this every year.

WHEN AND HOW TO PAY

You must make sure that you pay your rent so you have covered the four weeks to come. This is In line with your tenancy agreement. You can choose to pay your rent every week, every two weeks or every four weeks.

YOU CAN PAY IN SEVERAL WAYS
  • Direct debit
  • By Debit card
  • Any shop with an AllPay
  • On the AllPay website.
  • On our website
  • Bank transfer

You can use AllPay cards to pay at post offices, newsagents, and grocery stores with a Payzone or PayPoint logo. AllPay makes it more convenient if you want to pay in cash, by cheque or debit card.

You can pay your rent online using the “Pay Rent” button on this page.

We will send you a rent account statement within 10 working days of the end of each rent quarter. We will post your statement to you in April, July, October and January.

HELP WITH YOUR RENT

What is Housing Benefit?

If you’re on a low income, employed or not, and need help to pay your rent, you may be able to get Housing Benefit. This is a national scheme which is run locally by both North and East Ayrshire councils.

You may get Housing Benefit if you pay rent and your income and capital (savings and investments) are below a certain level. You could qualify if you are out of work, or in work and earning a wage.

HOW DO I MAKE A CLAIM

You can get claim forms from our offices and from North or East Ayrshire Council offices. You can also download the form from the government website

https://www.gov.uk/housing-benefit

IF I QUALIFY, HOW MUCH BENEFIT WILL I GET?

The amount of Housing Benefit you get depends on the amount of money you earn, and savings you have. The number and ages of the people living in your house is also taken into account.

You can use the online benefits advisor tool to give you a guide to any right by clicking the link. Direct.gov.uk

WHAT IF MY CIRCUMSTANCES CHANGE

If the information you have given changes, you must tell your local council office at once and let us know. Changes including wage increases, someone moving in or out of the home, may impact the amount of benefit you get. The council will send forms from time to time, and you must make sure you fill in and return these. If you do not, your Housing Benefit may be cancelled.

OVERPAYMENT OF HOUSING BENEFIT

If you don’t tell the council about changes in circumstances, you may be overpaid, the council will claim it back. If it was paid direct to us, and the council has claimed it back, we will recover the money from you.

HOUSING BENEFIT VERIFICATION FRAMEWORK

We are working with North and East Ayrshire councils known as the Verification Frame work. We can accept new Housing Benefit claims and changes in circumstances and check (verify) evidence supporting these claims. This means that the councils can process these claims more quickly.

UNIVERSAL CREDIT

Universal Credit is a new single payment for people who are looking for work or on a low income. It was launched in 2013 and will replace:

  • income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
  • income-related Employment and Support Allowance
  • Income Support
  • Child Tax Credit
  • Working Tax Credit
  • Housing Benefit

Universal Credit will be paid direct to you, you must arrangeme to pay your rent from your benefit payment. If the D.W.P says that you will get Universal Credit, please contact us, we can assist you with the claims. We must make arrangements to pay your rent or have payments taken directly from your benefit and paid us.

RENT ARREARS – WHAT TO DO

Not paying your rent is a serious matter and could lead to you losing your home. If you get behind with your rent, or think you might, you must contact us as soon as possible. This will help you and us to sort out problems quickly before arrears levels get too high. If you have difficulty in paying your rent, you should contact us immediately to arrange a repayment agreement. If you fail to stick to the repayment agreement or fully co-operate with us, we will instruct our solicitor to take court action. If this happens, you should get independent legal advice (there are a number of agencies operating locally). You can get details from any of our offices. We will not take legal action if you make and keep to an arrangement for paying what you owe us.

We have a responsibility to tell certain other members of your household if we plan taking legal action against you. This is so the court can consider your circumstances. This means that anyone who you have taken in as a lodger or sublet your house to is entitled to know about this action. The same applies to members of your family over the age of 16 who live with you. So, it is important that we know who lives in your home and, if we ask you to provide this information, you should make every effort to do so.

You can also speak to your local housing officer who can refer you for help.

COUNCIL TAX

You are individually responsible for paying council tax, or any other charge made by the local authority. If you need information about council tax, you should contact your local authority on the numbers listed here:

NORTH AYRSHIRE

Telephone:
01294 310456

Email:
moneymatters@north-ayrshire.gcsx.gov.uk

Address:
Money Matters, Social Services, North Ayrshire Council, 3rd Floor, Bridgegate House, Irvine KA12 8BD

Opening times:
Offices and phone lines are open: Monday to Thursday: 9am to 4.45pm and Friday: 9am to 4.30pm

EAST AYRSHIRE

Telephone:
01563 554400

Email:
benefits@east-ayrshire.gov.uk

Address:
Benefits Section, PO BOX 13, John Dickie Street, Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire KA1 1BY

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