Rents and arrears service standards
We will:
Offer you a wide range of ways to pay your rent and other charges so you can pay your rent 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year
Send you an easy to understand rent statement at least every 4 months
Give you a payment card within 15 working days of the start of your tenancy and send a replacement card on request within 15 working days
Provide you with information on how your rent compares to the rents of other housing associations in the local area
Tell you how much rent you have to pay and give you clear information about what your rent and other charges cover
Process refund requests within 15 working days if you have paid too much rent
Provide help and advice to claim and access correct benefits by employing a dedicated money matter adviser. Alternatively we can give you details of other organisations that can offer you independent, impartial advice about debt
Explain why any debt is owed and satisfy you that the amount is correct
Contact you within 21 days if your rent account falls into arrears beyond that expected to be received from housing benefit, or if we do not have an arrangement with you for the debt to be repaid
Make realistic affordable agreements, taking into account personal circumstances and provide those in writing
Take firm but fair action if you continue to have rent arrears and only take legal action if necessary
Inform you of any debts on former tenancies within 28 days of your tenancy ending
Treat debts left behind once you have moved out as ‘former tenant arrears’ and pursue, until you repay the debt, using a range of collection methods
We will monitor these standards by:
Regularly asking you whether we are meeting them. This may be through surveys or other ways of asking your views
Producing annual comparisons with other housing associations and publicise it in our residents’ magazine
Monitoring response times to requests
Undertaking income and expenditure forms when arranging agreements
Undertaking mystery shopping
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