When you sign a lease for your house and become a tenant of The Highland Council, you are then responsible for paying the rent. The rent due to the Council is used to pay for repairs, provide other council housing services and to repay the money borrowed by the Council to build and modernise council houses in the Highlands.
How will I know how much to pay?
How much rent you pay will depend on the type and size of house that you rent. When you start a new tenancy, we will tell you how much rent you will have to pay in the letter offering you the tenancy and again when you sign the lease. You will be issued with a Rent Card in the form of a plastic swipe card.
Every year, the Council has to work out how much rent it needs to cover the cost of all the housing services. At the end of February or the beginning of March, we will write to you telling you how much we will be charging for the next year. You should get the letter at least 28 days before we start charging the new rent.
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How can I pay my rent?
When you become a tenant, we will start a rent account for you and provide you with a swipe card. Each week, we will charge your rent to this account and every time you make a payment, we will show this on your rent account. If you do not pay your rent by the end of the week, you will be in arrears of rent. You can also pay monthly or fortnightly – but you must always pay in advance.
There are various ways in which you can pay your rent:
- at any cash office or Highland Council Service Point (using your plastic swipe card) by cash, cheque, debit or credit card
- at most post offices (using your plastic swipe card) by cash, cheque, debit or credit card
- by bank standing order
- by deduction from salaries or wages (very easy for employees of Highland Council, but can also be arranged for other employers)
- to a rent collector (Sutherland only, restricted list of tenants)
- by telephone on 0845 602 4232 using a debit or credit card
- by making a payment over the internet at the online payments page by debit or credit card
- you can also set up regular payments using your own On-line Banking facility using your payment reference number and Sort Code 82 70 13 and Bank Account number 10000652
If you pay at your local Service Point, Cash Office or a Post Office, you will be given a receipt.
If you pay at the Post Office, through the bank or by sending a cheque, there will be some delay between when you make your payment and the payment being received by the Council and appearing on your rent account.
Paying your rent using the Council's on-line system is easy and becoming very popular. If you click on the link above, you will be guided through a set of steps to follow to make your payment on-line.
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Quarterly Statements
Once every three months we will send you a statement of your rent account. This will show the date that all charges are made to your rent account together with all payments made whether by you or by Housing Benefit. The statement will also show the balance of your account at the end of each week.
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When should I pay my rent?
Your rent is due every week and should be paid at the start of the week. Each year, there are 4 weeks when rent is not charged. These are usually at Christmas, when the Council Offices are not open, and at the beginning of April. This means that your yearly rent is charged over 48 weeks instead of 52. If you are paying the full amount due each week, you will not need to pay rent over these 4 “free weeks”. If you choose to pay monthly, you will pay the yearly rent in 12 monthly instalments.
Full details about paying your rent will be explained when you sign your lease.
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What if I cannot pay each week?
If you have problems paying your rent, you should contact your local Housing Office immediately.
If you have not paid the full rent due by the end of the week, we will write to you asking you to pay the amount due or contact us. We will try to make an arrangement with you to pay the rent but you may also want to seek advice from The Highland Council Money Advice Service, or your local Citizens Advice Bureau.
The earlier you contact us, the easier it will be to work out a way to clear any arrears of rent.
If you do not pay your rent or do not stick to your agreement to repay the arrears due, we may take legal action to end your tenancy by eviction.
Before we can evict you from your home, we have to go to Court and prove to the Sheriff that you have not paid the rent that was due. The Sheriff will only give us permission to evict you if he thinks we have acted reasonably. You have the opportunity to argue your case to the Sheriff, or you can agree to pay the arrears by instalments. See our Arrears leaflet for more information.
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Housing Benefit
Housing Benefit is available to people with a low income to help pay their rent. If you claim Income Support, Job Seekers Allowance or Minimum Income Guarantee, you will find an application form for Housing Benefit with the applications forms for those benefits.
The Benefits Agency will forward the Housing Benefit claim form to the Highland Council.
If you are not claiming these benefits but are on a low income, either from low wages or a small pension or from claiming other benefits, you may still be able to claim Housing Benefit. You should contact your local Highland Council Service Point for a Housing Benefit application form. You must complete this and return it to the Highland Council as quickly as possible. It is important to return the form quickly even if you cannot fill the form in completely.
When you claim Housing Benefit, you can also ask to claim Council Tax Benefit. The Council manages both benefits for the Department for Work and Pensions and the same form is used to claim both benefits.
For more information, please e-mail: operationsteam@highland.gov.uk
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