Paying your rent
If you are in arrears
You must pay your rent weekly or monthly in advance. If you have
any difficulty in paying your rent or you think that you may have a
problem paying it in the future, please contact our Income
Team on 01303 853700.
It is important that you contact us before a debt grows.
Your circumstances will be discussed and
arrangements made for you to pay your rent plus an amount to clear
your arrears, according to your debt and ability to pay. You may
wish to seek independent debt advice, which is available locally
from the Citizens Advice Bureau or
the National Debtline on 0808
8084000.
For further information on independent debt
advice please visit:
Further help and
advice
What will happen if I do not pay?
Failure to pay off the arrears will result
in us serving a 'Notice of Seeking Possession’. This is the
first legal step we take towards Court action through the
County Court to recover possession of your property.
If the matter becomes very serious we will ask
the County Court to give us possession of your property.
A District Judge will decide after hearing evidence whether it is
reasonable to give possession. If you have good reasons for
not paying your rent when it is due the District Judge may
give us a suspended/postponed possession
order. Where outright possession is given a Court
Bailiff will be asked to visit the property to carry out the
eviction. This means possession is not awarded all the time you pay
an agreed amount set by the Court.
Normally if you are evicted for rent arrears
we will not be under a duty to re-house you. Eviction can
only be avoided by payment of all arrears and the Court costs or by
an application to the County Court to suspend the date of
eviction.
Even after eviction we will continue to pursue
former tenants for the debts they owe through the County Court
seeking a County Court Judgement. This will include all of
the costs spent on legal action taken to obtain possession of the
property and recover the debt.
Remember that prevention is better than cure
so contact us early on to avoid the distress and expense of legal
action.
Contact
Tel: 01303 853700
You might also be interested in:
Consumer Credit Counselling
Service
Free debt advice, including information on completing a personal
budget statement, specimen letters to creditors and help with
arranging a repayment plan to clear debts.
Kent
Savers
Telephone them on:
0333 321 9050 - Monday to Friday - 9am
to 5pm
0300 456 9990 - Monday to Friday - 5pm
to 8pm, and weekends from 8am to 8pm
Visit Kent Savers every Friday at
Gravesham Gateway Civic Centre, Windmill Street, Gravesend, from
9.30am until 1pm.