Housing - council - rent

We set a rent for each council property. There are a number of ways in which council tenants can pay their rent. We will help tenants to claim any available assistance for paying their rent and will make arrangements to reduce the arrears when they are in arrears. However, we do take legal action if tenants persistently fail to pay their rent.

Paying your rent

There are a number of ways to pay your rent, such as:

online
at your local post office
at PayPoint outlets
over the phone
by direct debit
by cheque
by Switch or debit card.

Online
To make a credit or debit card payment go to the Housing rent link in 'Do it online'.

By telephone
You can make a credit or debit card payment over the phone by calling 0845 3000 614.

Direct debit
Direct debit is an easy way to pay rent. It works like this:

once you have agreed to pay by direct debit, payments will be made automatically - you no longer have to remember to pay each month
there is a choice of two payment dates per month
if a credit or debit is created on your rent account, your direct debit payment will be recalculated to take into consideration any changes to your rent account for the remaining monthly payments. You will receive 14 days notification of any changes to your direct debit
when a tenancy ends the direct debit automatically ends
the council will update your direct debit every year and inform you of any changes.

There are lots of advantages to paying your rent by direct debit and many of our tenants are doing just that. We will even give you a one-off payment of £15 when you set up a direct debit.

You can download a 'Rents direct debit form' below.

Standing order
You can download a 'Standing order form' below.

Please make sure you write your rent account number on the form before sending it to your bank or building society.

If your tenancy ends, it will be your responsibilty to cancel the standing order.

Post office and PayPoint outlets

You can now pay your rent and council tax at post offices and PayPoint outlets throughout the region using the Payment Card.

To see what a PayPoint sign looks like go to the 'Payment methods for rent' download below. You can find your nearest PayPoint outlet via the associated link.

You can continue to use your existing payment card - there is no need to ask for a replacement. If you have lost your payment card you can request a replacement from us at the contact details below.

Help with paying your rent

If you need help paying your rent contact your housing officer for advice and assistance. You may be entitled to housing benefit.

Repaying your rent

If you are in arrears we will try and reach a realistic agreement for you to repay the amount due over a period of time. The council follows a legal procedure to recover arrears.