About your rent
How your rent is worked out
The council decides what your rent will be each year, we write to tell you at least four weeks before any change takes place. Your rent is set by following a Government formula called ‘rent restructuring’.
Rent restructuring is the Government’s method of getting fair, consistent rents for social landlords across the country by the year 2016. This means that homes of a similar age, value and type, and in the same area, will in time have similar rents, known as the ‘target rent’.
Your rent is based on:
- the number of bedrooms in your home
- the average wage in the area compared to that of the country as a whole
- how much your home was worth in January 1999
- the national average rent
- the national average property value
To prevent your rent increasing too high, the Government has set a ‘rent capping’ system.
How often should you pay your rent?
All properties have a weekly rent that is due every Monday, although you can pay weekly, fortnightly or monthly in advance – depending on what’s best for you.
When and where you can pay your rent
You need to start paying your rent as soon as your tenancy begins. You can pay your rent in a range of different places depending on how you want to pay. Please read our ‘ways to pay’ section.
How will you know how much rent you need to pay?
If you have any queries about how much rent to pay you can contact the rent team. If you wish to have a statement showing all your rent payments and rent charges you can also request this from the rent team.
What you need to remember when paying your rent
You will need to quote your rent reference number, which is found at the top of your rent statement, every time you pay your rent.
Have you paid too much?
If your account is in credit, you can apply for a refund. We will need your authority in writing to go ahead with this. Please contact us for more details.
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