Paying your rent

Your rent is charged every Monday and should be paid every week in advance. If you get behind with your payments your account will be ‘in arrears’.

You will have a payment book to use when making rent payments. If you have lost or do not have a rent book, please speak to a member of staff at BCHA. When your rent payment book becomes full, a new one will be issued to you.

Where you can pay your rent using your rent payment book

At the moment you can pay your rent using your rent payment book at the BCHA office only. You can also pay your Council Tax, South Staffs Water, Walsall Council Sundry Debt, BCHA Sundry Debt and Credit Union at BCHA.

BCHA payment counters are open as follows:

Monday, Tuesday & Friday – 8.45am to 4.30pm.

Wednesday & Saturday – 8.45am to 12.00.

Thursday – 9.30am to 5.15pm.

Other ways of paying your rent

£ By post. DO NOT SEND CASH THROUGH THE POST.

Send your cheque payments to:

BCHA, Chilton House, Stephenson Avenue, Beechdale, Walsall, WS2 7EU.

Your cheque should be made payable to BCHA Ltd and you should write your name, address , cheque guarantee card number and your rent account number on the back of the cheque.

£ By Standing Order. If you have a bank account you can make payments, in advance, straight from your account to BCHA. Forms are available from BCHA.

£ Direct Debit. If you have a bank account you can make payments, in advance, straight from your account to BCHA. Forms are available from BCHA.

£ Paying at home. In very exceptional circumstances, i.e. because of a disability or serious illness which means you cannot get to BCHA, AND YOU HAVE NO OTHER MEANS OF PAYING, a home visit may be arranged for you.

Housing Benefit

Some tenants may be entitled to claim Housing Benefit, which is intended to cover either fully or in part, the rent payments that you make for the home that you live in. The amount you are entitled to is dependant on any income you receive, savings and your family circumstances. If your circumstances change, then this could affect your entitlement to Housing Benefit. BCHA can help you to make a claim by:

• Helping you to complete the claim form
• Advising you of the necessary information that you need to provide
• Submitting your claim to Walsall MBC

If you need help or your circumstances change and you are not sure what you should do, then either visit us at our office at Stephenson Square or call us on 01922 648252.

Remember, it is your responsibility to ensure that all necessary information is provided to us as quickly as possible when making claims. Failure to do so will result in your rent account falling in arrears

Rent Account Statements

A statement showing all the charges, payments and any Housing Benefit you have received will be sent to you every 12 weeks.

When you get your statement you should check that all your payments have been recorded and that your balance is correct. Payments made after the statement date will not show until your next statement.

If your rent account is in credit you may be able to have this money refunded back to you. Please contact BCHA for further information.

If you disagree with any record of payments or you have any difficulties with your statement you should contact BCHA immediately.

Rent Arrears

BCHA is aware that there are many reasons why tenants may have rent arrears and will deal with your financial problems in an understanding, sympathetic, firm but fair way. However, rent arrears are a serious problem and may lead to you losing your home.

If you get behind with your rent payments you will be ‘in arrears’ and you should immediately contact BCHA to discuss any problems.

You will find it easier to avoid getting into arrears if you get into the habit of paying at the same time each week. Your rent is charged every Monday and you have until the Saturday of the same week to pay.

If you miss one week always try to pay it off the following week. If you go away on holiday always try to pay your rent in advance before you go. If you pay your rent monthly you should do so in advance and not in arrears.

YOU SHOULD ALWAYS ADVISE STAFF AT BCHA IF
YOU ARE HAVING DIFFICULTIES IN PAYING.

BCHA’s Rent Management Team will take firm action against tenants who get into arrears and who do not take any steps to sort out the problem. If you do not pay your rent promptly when it is due you could end up in Court and eventually lose your home.

What happens if you don’t pay your rent?

If you are behind with your rent payments, action will be taken which could lead to you being evicted. However, this is the last resort and BCHA will try to reach a suitable repayment arrangement with you before taking steps to evict you.

A reminder letter will be sent to you if you don’t pay your rent on time. If your rent is not brought up to date or you don’t make a suitable arrangement with BCHA to reduce your debt, we will send you further reminders to warn you that legal action to repossess your home is about to start.

If you owe 4 weeks rent or more, generally BCHA will serve you with a Notice Seeking Possession which gives you 28 days to either clear your arrears or make suitable repayment arrangements with BCHA.

Court Action (Possession Proceedings)

If your arrears continue to increase and you owe 8 weeks rent or more, BCHA will generally take court action against you. At this stage, you are at serious risk of losing your home.

You will receive a summons to appear in court and the summons will be for possession of your property and BCHA’s legal expenses.

However, even at this stage, you still have time to make suitable arrangements with BCHA to repay your arrears. If you do, BCHA will request that the possession order be suspended. The court will then make an order for you pay an agreed amount on top of your weekly rent.

As long as you maintain your court order agreement and your arrears do not increase, BCHA will not enforce the possession order to repossess your home.

Should your arrears increase to 12 weeks rent or more and you have not taken reasonable steps to reduce your debt, BCHA will ask the court to evict you.

If you are having financial difficulties, it is in your own interest to contact BCHA at the earliest opportunity.

You can contact us at any time to prevent action being taken against you. Don’t ‘bury your head in the sand’ – the longer you leave it the more serious the situation becomes.

If you are having problems paying your rent you can get confidential advice NOW. BCHA have experienced staff who are here to help you, not to judge you.

Walsall Citizens Advice Bureau also offers an excellent free debt advice service. They will be able to look at all of your debts and financial matters and may be able to contact creditors on your behalf. They can be contacted on 01922-700600.