Rent and other charges

The rent we charge you must fall within the rules set by the government.  When setting rents we have to take into account the size of the property, the location, the value and how local average earnings compare to national average earnings.

The Rent we charge pays for the services we provide, such as maintaining and improving your home, housing management and the cost of running SARH.

We will give you one month’s notice of any rent increase.  Normally increases apply from the first payment week in April.

9 April 2012

This week you will be receiving through the post your latest quarterly statement for rent and other charges.

Your statement shows a weekly breakdown of charges and payments on your account for the period from 9 January 2012 to 1 April 2012. If you have more than one account (dwelling rent, garage rent, lifeline or telecare), you will receive a statement for each account.

If your account is in arrears and you have not already made an agreement to repay the arrears, we would like to help you – please get in touch with us to discuss your account.

The following information only applies if your statement is for dwelling rent:

If you are receiving Housing Benefit payments towards your dwelling rent, please note that Housing Benefit payments are only received from Stafford Borough Council every four weeks and these payments are shown in the “Payment Type” column. The timing of these payments affects your Account Balance. This means that your account will be showing in arrears until your Housing Benefit payment comes through at the end of the 4 weeks period.

If you are not receiving Housing Benefit and you are having difficulty in paying your dwelling rent, you may be able to claim Housing Benefit towards the cost of your rent payments.  Please contact Stafford Borough Council’s Benefits Customer Services, Civic Centre, Riverside, Stafford (Telephone 01785 619478) for advice. You may also wish to contact our Money Advisors (Telephone 0800 111 4554) or the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) for advice on benefits and money management.