Months rent in advance means?

BigAunty

Charityworker wrote: »

Sorry am I also right in thinking that they can only start talking about eviction etc if your in arrears? Not just for having less than 1 months rent in credit? Sorry for all the questions. Like I said, before we were on 80% HB and I would just pay the shortfall of £20 every week by DD. my account with them then was always at a balance of equilibrium (for want of a better word). Not in the plus or minus. It's been that way for 4 years! Suddenly we stop getting HB and they start asking for a month in advance.

I would stop saying 'rent in credit' as it gives the impression that you've overpaid. I know its being pendantic but rent in advance isn't the same as having too much in the account but is about having the right sum at the right time (upfront). If you are due to pay on the 1st, and pay the full month's rent on the 1st, then perhaps its best to see it as the balance being zero, like when you pay off a credit card balance in full- you don't owe anything but you are not 'overpaying' and ending up with extra money on the card (but perhaps this isn't a good analogy...).

As I previously indicated, I assume that either your top-ups prevented you from owing rent or the social landlord knows that synchronising 4 weekly HB paid in advance with monthly rent due in advance is simply too hard for many tenants on HB to manage or they've built a tolerance into their system because they know that eventually the HB will catch up over time.

(In the private sector, a landlord would be hopping mad if a HB claimant merely paid the HB when they got it instead of the actual rent due when it is due and this is actually a known reason why private landlords resist HB tenants, among a number of reasons).

For those in employment, I assume the HA expect the tenants to be able to honour the actual terms of the contract in full which is a shock to you, or that the period between the HB ending and the employment income being received has thrown you in an unexpected fashion into arrears.

However, the previous poster who works for a HA is best placed to comment on this.

boo2410

At our place we normally serve a Notice of Seeking Possession when 4 weeks rent are owed, even if an agreement has been made. This is purely to protect us should the tenant not keep to an agreement and we can pursue legal action. When a Notice is served it gives the tenant 4 clear weeks to either clear the arrears or come to an agreement to clear them.

We never make agreements for stupidly large amounts of money as a lot of people will not keep to them, therefore it is better to have an affordable agreement that will be maintained.

With regard to court and eviction, the Judges are normally on the side of the tenant (rightly so) and we need to show at the hearing that we have done everything we can to work with the tenant to resolve the arrears. And when we have the Order it is usually suspended on terms (tenant has to pay rent plus x amount each week, then clear court costs - ours are £100 - once arrears are cleared) or adjourned with liberty to restore for 12 months which means an agreement is made but we have to go back to court if the agreement is broken to obtain an Order.

Eviction is really a last resort and is very hard to obtain, and even if it is granted a tenant can still go back to court and get the eviction stayed (and the do even when they owe £3-4k).

If you want to PM me and give me exact figures I'm happy to confirm your payments for you.

I wouldn't worry about who you spoke to on the phone, they sound very unsympathetic, and you would, i think, be within your rights to make a complaint. If I were you I would ask for a copy of their arrears procedure.

Charityworker

Ok that's all as clear as mud now

All I can tell you is that you pay money into an account and it deducts £99.96 from that balance every Monday. Not a month at a time on the 1st.

mrschaucer

That seems like a complicated way of doing things!
Once you've got some money available to you from hubby's wages, do establish exactly where you are re rent owing (or not) and pay that off if you can. Then start again.
Are you saying you can pay weekly, and does this suit you if your hubby only gets paid at the end of every month? Do you have internet banking? If so you can easily arrange a weekly standing order for £99.96 to go to the HA. If you would prefer to pay monthly, in line with hubby's pay, then you need to do a monthly standing order of £433.16 so you pay the correct amount over the course of a year. A bit like evening out the gas and electric bills. Then the HA can take out the weekly amount every Monday. There might be some months where there are five Mondays, though ... Makes my head hurt. If the HA are happy with this, I wouldn't worry. It would all come right in the end.

boo2410

To simplify things work out what your credit balance is today then deduct the rent due to the end of this financial year (2 weeks). What is the balance after this amount has been deducted?

Next multiply your new weekly rent by 52 weeks and divide it by 12 months (1st April 13 to 1st March 14. Whatever the balance is on your account at 31st March should be added (if you owe money) or deducted (if you are in credit) from the April payment. Payments from May onwards should remain the same.

When you get your rent statements throughout the year you will see that at the end of some months you may be in credit and other months you will be in arrears, don't worry about this as you are paying calendar monthly and some months have 4 weeks and some 5.

As an aside if your rent is debited weekly then there is no reason why you can't pay weekly if that is easier for you, I don't see why there is any obligation to pay monthly. We debit rent weekly and our tenants can pay at any intervals they want so long as they pay in advance.

Hope that helps.

shonzyd

think you may need to just sit down with your rent officer and work out exactly how the payments work to avoid any further confusion.

Charityworker

Panic over. My parents are going to lend us £500 to pay the months rent up front. Phew!