Please contact us straight away if you are behind, or are about to get behind with your rent. The sooner you tell us, the easier it is to sort out.
Our Income Management Team can help in many ways. We can:-
• Work with you to find an affordable agreement to clear the rent you owe
• Carry out home visits at your request
• Refer you to the Citizens Advice Bureau for debt or financial advice
• Refer you to Stonham or another agency for additional support
• Help you complete housing benefit forms, and go with you to the benefits department at Cornwall Council if required
• Help you with other housing benefit queries, such as providing the correct information for your claim
• Talk to the housing benefit department on your behalf
• Point you to other agencies for more affordable borrowing
• Give you help and advice about the rent you owe and any legal action
• Work with other agencies to find ways to avoid losing your home
• Give you help and advice about claiming other benefits
• Arrange for a housing benefit visiting officer to come to you if you are unable to get to the housing benefit office
• Calculate your payments for you so you pay the correct amount
• Set up a direct debit for you
• Provide you with information on free courses to learn skills like budgeting
• Refer you to an agency which can help you get back to work
• Help you to find more affordable banking solutions
• Contact gas, water, and electricity providers or benefit agencies on your behalf to help overcome any problems
• Work with any support workers you may have to help deal with the rent you owe
We know that if you are behind with your rent, you may face other challenges, including other debt problems.
You may have a poor credit history and find it difficult to obtain an affordable bank account, or affordable loan. You may have borrowed from doorstep lenders who charge high interest rates, leading to more problems.
We believe in trying to deal with the whole debt problem and not just the rent you owe us.
If you think of anything else not mentioned on the list above, that you think we can help you with, please ask. If we can do it, we will!
Reasons to pay your rent on time
As well as being at risk of losing your home, there are other reasons why you should avoid getting behind with your rent:-
• When a court order is granted, a money judgement is also made. This will be show on your credit history, and will make it very difficult for you to get credit in the future
• You may not be able to get a mortgage in the future
• If you are evicted for rent arrears, we will not re-house you in the future unless the debt is cleared or an agreement is in place and being kept to.
• If you are evicted for rent arrears, you will be classed as ‘intentionally homeless’. This is because the eviction could have been avoided by paying the rent. The local authority will then have no obligation to re-house you for up to 2 years following eviction
Need additional help and advice?
Click here to access our independent help page. This page is full of useful links and contact details for a wide range of agencies who can offer help and advice in a number of different areas.