make it happen make it happen Rents and Service Charges 2017

Transcription

1 make it happen make it happen Rents and Service Rents and Service Charges 2018 Charges 2017

2 Frequently asked questions about Rent What is my rent used for? Your rent is used to manage, maintain and improve your home, strengthen your community and help fund the building of new homes. Rents charged by us are amongst the lowest in Plymouth - making them good value for money. How is my rent charged? Your rent is charged on a weekly basis and is due weekly in advance. This year payments are due from 2 April 2018 to 31 March If you choose to pay fortnightly, your payment will need to cover the current week and week following. You can also pay monthly in advance. We check your account at the end of each week. When are the rent free weeks? The rent-free weeks will be the weeks starting the 24 December 2018 and 25 March Our rent year runs from 2 April 2018 to 31 March 2019.There will be 52 weeks during this period. If you pay weekly, we ask you to pay your rent for the whole year over 50 weeks so that you will have 2 rent-free weeks. If you pay your rent by monthly Direct Debit your rent for the year is paid in 12 equal instalments. However you pay, the total for the year will be the same. If you are in arrears, have a court order or have another arrangement in place to clear arrears, you will still be expected to make payments during the rent free weeks. When is my rent going down? The Government made an announcement on 8 July 2015 about changes to Social Housing Rents and has introduced this through the Welfare Reform and Work Act. This requires social landlords like PCH to reduce rents for social housing tenants by 1% each year until This is to help make savings in public expenditure through reduced payments for housing benefit claims. For most tenants this will simply be a 1% reduction. What if I fall behind with my rent or service charges? If you are having difficulty paying your rent and service charges please contact the Income Recovery and Financial Inclusion Team as soon as possible on Freephone or (01752) Money worries, especially debt, can have longstanding effects on your health, as well as having wider implications for you and your family. We work with a number of agencies that can help you resolve your problems in complete confidence. Most people struggle from time to time to make ends meet and life can throw up unforeseen costs that result in you being short of money. There are however some key indications that you may have a debt problem. Are you: Having trouble paying your rent? Having to borrow money to pay day to day living expenses? Borrowing to meet outstanding debt repayments? Struggling to meet minimum credit

3 card repayments? Last year we supported hundreds of people to resolve their debt problems - if you are worrying about money and paying your rent please contact us as soon as possible. How can I get help with my rent and service charges? If you have a low income and do not get any help to pay your rent at present, you may be entitled to Housing Benefit or Universal Credit. If you would like to make an application for Housing Benefit you can do this online at plymouth.gov. uk/counciltaxbenefit, by contacting Plymouth City Council at their 1st Stop shop in the City Centre or by speaking to our Income Recovery and Financial Inclusion Team on Freephone or (01752) Universal Credit is being introduced to replace a range of working age benefits and Tax Credits to simplify the system and make work pay. Universal Credit has been introduced in Plymouth and may apply to you. To find out if you can make a claim, and for the latest information, visit, gov.uk/universalcredit or speak to our Income Recovery and Financial Inclusion Team on Freephone or (01752) I am receiving Housing Benefit. Do I need to reapply? IF YOU RECEIVE HOUSING BENEFIT NOW, YOU DO NOT NEED TO REAPPLY. You will receive a letter from the Housing Benefit Office that will tell you your new benefit entitlement and the revised amount you should pay each week. I am receiving Universal Credit. Do I need to reapply? IF YOU RECEIVE UNIVERSAL CREDIT NOW, YOU NEED TO CONTACT THE UNIVERSAL CREDIT HELPLINE IF THERE IS ANY CHANGE TO YOUR RENT OR SERVICE CHARGES. You can contact the Universal Credit Helpline on and advise of any change in your rent or service charges. This must be done before the end of your assessment period in which the change has occurred. Paying By Direct Debit Direct Debit is the best way to pay your rent. Direct Debit is safe and easy which is why a large number of our residents now choose to pay this way. If you set up a Direct Debit you are protected by the Direct Debit Guarantee. You can pay weekly, fortnightly, four weekly or monthly on any date you choose. These payments should be made in advance in line with the terms of your tenancy agreement. For more information or to set up a Direct Debit, contact us on Freephone or (01752) MyPCH If you want to check your rent account, you can do it through your MyPCH account. With MyPCH, you can also report repairs, update your contact details and make a comment or complaint online, 24 hours a day from your computer, tablet or phone. Registering for a MyPCH account is easy. Just go to:

4 Frequently asked questions about Service Charges I am in a block and I know someone in another block who pays a different amount for the same service. Why is this? Each block, however similar, will have costs that can vary. For example, one block may have more flats than another so the costs are spread among more residents. This makes the cost per resident lower. Some blocks have more grounds to maintain or larger courtyards to clean. What is a service charge? A service charge is made for services we provide to your block or home that are not covered by the rent. It covers communal services and, in some cases, individual services such as heating and hot water. We operate a variable service charge system. This means we will only charge you the amount it costs us for the services you receive. We aim to provide services in the most reasonable and cost effective way and to a standard acceptable to you, our residents. Why are you sending out a service charge statement? The service charge statement shows you the difference between the actual costs, compared to what we originally estimated for the period October 2016 to September We have to estimate how much your service charge will be for the following 12 months. By law, if we make this charge, we have to make an adjustment when we know how much the services actually cost. We want to be open and transparent with you about these costs and the adjustment. The estimate might be different from the actual cost due to things like changes in inflation or different products being used to provide services. Once we know the actual cost, we either add or deduct the difference from the estimated cost of the services for the next year (starting April 2018) to give your new service charge. We have tried to keep this information as clear as possible but if you have questions then please contact your Housing Officer. How does the affordability cap work? This cap only applies to you if you were a tenant before April 2011 and is due to the introduction of variable charges. If this applies to you, we have adjusted the service charge so you will not pay any more than what was your ongoing charge at 2011, uplifted by inflation +1% +50p for each year since April Why should I pay for a lift or laundry if I don t use them? Everyone in the block has access to the facilities. Whether you choose to use it or not, all residents in the block share the cost of communal services. What is a management and administration charge? There is a cost in running and managing the services provided to your block. These costs are covered by the management and administration charge. This includes calculating the charges and adjustments, managing the contracts, making payments to our providers, providing information and consulting with residents. It will not be more than 15% of the total cost of service charges. Will I get a refund if I am owed money for the period October 2016 to September 2017? If we overestimated your service charge, any extra money you have paid will be taken into account by reducing your service charge for the year starting from April 2018.

5 Information about benefits Bedroom Tax If you are below pensionable age, receive Housing Benefit or Universal Credit and you have one or more spare bedrooms, the amount you receive will be reduced. You need to pay the difference, commonly known as the Bedroom Tax, yourself. If you are having difficulty paying this, please contact us as soon as possible and we will do our best to help you and provide advice. We have staff who are able to help anyone who wants to move to a smaller home and we have already helped a number of residents move to accommodation that suits their needs. If you would like to move to a smaller home please contact us. Universal Credit Universal Credit was introduced in Plymouth in 2016 as part of the national roll out by government. Universal Credit is the new single payment for people who are looking for work or on a low income. It replaces a range of working-age benefits including Job Seekers Allowance, Income Support, Employment and Support Allowance, Child Tax Credits, Working Tax Credits and Housing Benefit with a single calendar monthly payment. If you currently receive Housing Benefit, this is paid directly to us as your landlord. Under Universal Credit, this will be paid to you with all your other benefits and you will then need to pay us your rent. We realise that this is a big change but we will do everything we can to make this as easy as possible for you. We contact people who we think may be affected to see if there is anything that they are concerned about or if they need any additional support. If we speak to you about Universal Credit, we will need to ask you a lot of personal questions about your income, your outgoings and any debts you have this information will be held in complete confidence. It is important that you are honest with us so that we can give you the right advice and help if you need it. If you would like to find out more about Universal Credit and how it may affect you, contact our Income Recovery and Financial Inclusion Team on Benefit Cap There is a limit in the total amount of welfare benefits that people of a working age can receive this is called the Benefit Cap. The Benefit Cap is 20,000. There are exemptions if you are in receipt of Personal Independence Payment / Disability Living Allowance/Support Group Employment and Support Allowance, Industrial Injuries Benefit, War Disablement Pensions, War Widow/Widowers benefits or if you work enough hours to get Working Tax Credit. We realise the reduced Benefit Cap will affect a lot more of our tenants so we are trying to contact anyone we think maybe affected. If you have any queries concerning the Benefit Cap and how it may affect you, please call the Income Recovery & Financial Inclusion Team on or (01752)

6 If you need more information about your rent you can contact us in the following ways: in person, by letter, online or by telephone Online PCH City Centre Shop Frankfort Gate, Plymouth PL1 1QD Plymouth Community Homes Head Office, Plumer House, Tailyour Road, Crownhill, Plymouth PL6 5DH Tel: or (01752) Income Recovery and Financial Inclusion Team Tel: or (01752) Housing Officer Teams Tel: Tel: (01752) Register for a MyPCH account where you can pay your rent, check your balance, report a repair and update your details: Plymouth Community Homes Plumer House Tailyour Road, Crownhill Plymouth PL6 5DH T E w info@plymouthcommunityhomes.co.uk plymouthcommunityhomes.co.uk twitter.com/plymcommhomes facebook.com/plymouthcommunityhomes Plymouth Community Homes is a registered provider under the Co-operative and Community Benefits Societies Act Registration no: 30637R.