Under the terms of your Tenancy Agreement you have an obligation to pay your rent, rates and, if applicable, service charge every week. Your rent is calculated on a points system. Points are awarded for the age and type of property, number and size of rooms and facilities such as the type of heating installed. We do not charge you for any alterations or improvements you carry out to your own home.

There are a number of methods of paying your rent, rates and if applicable, service charge. These include:

• by cash or cheque at the Association's office, during office hours

• by Standing Order through the bank. Payments can be made every week or once a month

• by cash through the Post Office using your rent book. Please keep your rent book safe as this is your receipt of payments made

The Association is dedicated to improving its rent collection procedures and to offer our tenants choice and convenience in when and where they pay their rent. We are therefore pleased to announce that we are introducing the Direct Debit Scheme which is a more effective method of making rental payments.   We are keen to encourage our tenants to join the Direct Debit Scheme and to take advantage of its many benefits. We anticipate that this system will be introduced early 2009.

Every three months we will send you a statement of your rent account. You should check the statement against the receipts in your rent book to ensure all payments have been received. The statement will also provide details of payments made by the NIHE, or any other agency making payments on your behalf.

RENT ARREARS

If you find difficulty in paying your rent or find yourself in rent arrears you should arrange an appointment with the Housing Officer immediately.  The Association offers an out-of-hours appointment service to facilitate tenants who are unable to meet with their Housing Officer during office working hours.  To avail of this service please contact the Association.

If it is not possible for you to repay the full amount at once you can enter into an agreement to repay your arrears in regular instalments along with your rent.

Where you have not made reasonable attempts to repay arrears the Association may:

• seek to recover the money through the Courts, in which case you may be liable for legal costs

• seek direct deductions from your Social Security Benefits

• as a last resort, we will issue a "Notice of Seeking Possession". This Notice stays in effect for 12 months. If your arrears increase during this time we may ask the Court for a Possession Order. This can lead to eviction

The Association offers a Debt Counselling service to tenants who are having difficulty repaying their arrears.  For further information, or to arrange a Debt Counselling appointment please contact your Housing Officer.

Please Note
Tenants in arrears who do not make an arrangement to repay may be disqualified from obtaining a transfer or mutual exchange.

• how much money you have coming in regularly

• your savings

• the composition of your family

• how much rent, rates and service charge you have to pay

If you are on Income Support then you may be entitled to the maximum amount of Housing Benefit. Under certain circumstances, you may also be entitled to Housing Benefit if you are in full time employment, even if you are not receiving other Social Security Benefits. You do not need to have paid any National Insurance Contributions.

In April 2008, a new discount was made available for pensioners on low income to help pay their rates.  This is called Lone Pensioner Allowance (LPA).

If you get Housing Benefit or Rate Relief (or both) but don't get all your rates paid, the Housing Executive will use the information it already has about you to work out how much LPA you might be entitled to. 

Lone Pensioner Allowance is not means-tested so any social security benefits you receive will not normally be affected.

Please contact your Housing Officer for further advice on how to apply for this discount.

If you are in full time low paid employment you may be entitled to claim Family Credit. To qualify for Family Credit you must be working 16 hours a week or more and be responsible for at least one child under 16 years. The amount of Family Credit you receive will depend on your wages, savings, number of children you have and their ages.

The amount of Family Credit you receive counts as additional income when your Housing Benefit is being calculated. This means that an increase in Family Credit or wages will reduce your entitlement to Housing Benefit. It will then be YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to make up the difference between your total rent and the level of Housing Benefit you receive.

If you are employed but are off work temporarily due to ill health you may be entitled to claim Housing Benefit or additional help due to reductions in your income.

To get more information on Social Security Benefits telephone the DSS Enquiry Service - Freeline DSS 0800 616757.

• entitlement to Income Support or Income based Job Seekers Allowance

• entitlement to any other state benefit or Tax Credits

• changes in the number of people who live with you

• if any of your children leave school

• if you go into hospital or prison

• increase/decrease in savings or income

Where such information is not given to the NIHE or the information is incorrect, an overpayment may result. The NIHE is entitled to recover these overpayments by making deductions from current and future Housing Benefit claims.