Rent News and Standards
Rent Newsletter July 2008
Online benefits calculator
Benefit leaflets
Financial Advice leaflet
New insurance provider for Hackney Homes tenants
Changes to rent from 7 April 2008
What you can expect (service standards)
Online benefits calculator
Benefit leaflets
Financial Advice leaflet
New insurance provider for Hackney Homes tenants
Changes to rent from 7 April 2008
What you can expect (service standards)
Download the latest Rent Newsletter (July 2008).
The online benefits calculator is for tenants who wish to find out how much housing and council tax benefit they may qualify for.
View the online calculator today to see if you qualify.
For general advice and guidance about Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit, check out the suite of leaflets on the Benefit Leaflets website.
If you are having difficulty paying your rent or in need of some financial advice, download Hackney Homes' Financial Advice leaflet and seek advice and help today.
April 2008
Hackney Homes has negotiated a cheaper contract for tenants with new insurance provider, Jardine Lloyd Thompson.
The weekly contents insurance charge for contents to the value of up to £6,000 (our lowest level) has reduced from £1.14 per week to £0.90 per week and our most common rate which is for contents to the value of £10,000 has reduced from £1.90 to £1.50. The upper level has also been increased from £25,000 to £35,000 giving our tenants protection for higher valued contents.
Our newly negotiated insurance contract gives tenants value for money and is one of the cheapest available. The weekly cost of insurance is added to your rental charge. Tenants who are in arrears are not eligible for this scheme. For more information, phone 020 8356 2164/2165/2168.
Under Government guidelines, the basic rent of Council tenants in Hackney needs to rise each year up to 2011 to reach to ensure all social housing rents in the borough are similar. Although we are increasing the rents this year, we hope to be able to keep any rises in the coming years to a minimum. The average increase for 2008/09 is 6.7% and we wrote to all tenants in March explaining the increase and providing new weekly rents.
If you have any questions about your rent, please contact your Neighbourhood Office.
Paying Rent
We aim to provide a range of services to help tenants to pay their rent on time.
Our approach is to…
- Offer you a wide range of ways to pay rent. These include: Direct debit or standing order; debit or credit card; in person or by telephone; at a cash payment office; on the website www.hackneyhomes.org.uk; at a PayPoint outlet; at the post office or your bank; or by deducting your benefit from the Department for Work and Pension
- Offer financial incentives and a choice of dates to pay rent by direct debit
- Provide tenants with information about when rent is due and where and how it can be paid
- Provide a rent statement, on request, from any Neighbourhood Housing Office
- Provide advice and assistance on debt management, housing benefit and other welfare benefits or refer a tenant to other agencies, if specialist advice is needed
- Provide and assistance on completing a Housing Benefit application and about other benefits and grants which tenants might be able to claim
- Work with Hackney Council, to ensure Housing Benefit payments are credited to the rent account on time
- Ensure Housing Benefit claims are reviewed and renewed regularly
Our service standards…
- We will aim to collect 100% of rent due
- We will set up a rent account and provide a rent payment card for new tenants within 3 days of the tenancy date
- In line with current government guidance, we will not increase rents by more than the rate of inflation, plus half a percent, plus £2.00 per week
- We will inform tenants of any rent increase at least four weeks before this must be paid
- We will write to you each year (in January or February), to confirm the rent and other charges for the coming year
- We will send a rent statement to all tenants every three months, within 10 days of the end of each quarter
- We will provide a breakdown of the gross rent within 10 working days of receiving a request
- We will respond to balance queries and requests for replacement rent cards within 2 working days
- We will process all refunds of rent credit within 3 days of receiving a written request to do so
- We will notify Housing Benefit within one working day of any change in a tenant’s circumstances
- We will reply in writing to a request for rent and tenancy references from lending institutions within 5 working days.
Problems paying rent
We aim to provide a range of services to help tenants pay their rent on time. If you are having problems paying your rent, you need to contact us as quickly as possible. If rent is not paid on time, a tenant’s home may be at risk.
Our approach is to…
- Write to you if you fail to pay rent and also try to make personal contact, to tell you how much you owe and to request payment
- Provide information on what to do and who to contact, to ensure all options are explored to enable a tenant to repay rent debt
- Try to reach an acceptable arrangement to clear any rent arrears, based on your income
- Make contact in writing, offer an appointment to discuss arrears and try to reach an instalment agreement, before starting legal action
- Make contact with a tenant at every stage of the arrears procedure, advising of the amount owed and the action to be taken
- Seek possession on rent arrears only as a last resort and once all other reasonable steps have been taken
- Offer vulnerable tenants, in arrears, a referral to the Tenancy Support Service, for additional help and support
Our Service standards…
- We will advise tenants, in writing, within two weeks of the rent account going into arrears.