Paying your rent

If you are struggling to pay your rent please contact your Tenancy Sustainment Officer.
Tel 01827 709514 or Email incometeam@tamworth.gov.uk  they will work with you to help you sustain your tenancy.

If you fail to engage, then very much as a last resort the Council will submit your case to the Nuneaton County Court that could lead to the Judge ending your tenancy. Everyone living at the property would also have to leave the property. Your tenancy sustainment officer can reach an agreement with you whereby you pay off your arrears at an affordable amount each week/ month. They can help you apply for help towards your rent such as a discretionary housing payment or a support fund payment and can refer you to other organisations such as the Tamworth Advice Centre that can offer specialist advice on a range of issues including benefits, debt advice, budgeting, grants, energy advice, bankruptcy, debt relief orders, and breathing space applications. 

The Council fully appreciates that the increase in the cost of living has created financial challenges for many households and is willing to work with any tenant to try to reach a solution that is both fair and affordable for all parties. The worst thing any household can do is to ignore the problem and fail to contact the Council, the problem will only get worse, and your home will be at risk if the case does have to progress to court.  

Contact Details of the Tenancy Sustainment Officers and assistants who work for the Income Team 

Contact: Tel: 01827 709514. Email: IncomeTeam@tamworth.gov.uk 
Available Monday to Friday from 8:45am to 5:10pm, with exception of Friday when we close at 5:05pm (closed bank holidays).

The four rent free weeks for council tenants of Tamworth Borough Council​ during the 2023 - 2024 financial year are as follows:​

Weeks commencing Monday

  • 21 August 2023
  • 18 December 2023
  • 18 March 2024
  • 25 March 2024

Paying your rent is an important term of your tenancy agreement. It should take priority over other debts as you could lose your home if you do not pay your rent.

Your tenancy requires you to pay your rent weekly in advance on a Monday. If you would  prefer an alternative arrangement for the payment of your rent this can be agreed with your tenancy sustainment officer whereby payments are made in advance every fortnight, four-weekly or monthly. If you are joint tenants, you are both responsible for ensuring the full rent has been paid. This is known as being jointly and severally liable. The Council does not enter discussions about which joint tenant is paying all or part of the rent.

Our commitments to you

  • Provide you with a unique rent account number and a range of different ways you can pay your rent.
  • Provide help and advice to help you sustain your tenancy.
  • Help you to complete forms.
  • Contact you promptly if you get into rent arrears, and to try to reach a mutually acceptable agreement that is both affordable and fair. 
  • Send out quarterly rent statements.
  • Provide you with an online tenant’s portal from which you can see your up to date rent balance at any time: myhousing.tamworth.gov.uk
  • Formal legal action will only be taken as a last resort.

If you are having problems paying your rent contact us immediately. Do not wait until you receive an arrears letter or ignore letters we send you.
Contact: Tel: 01827 709514. Email: IncomeTeam@tamworth.gov.uk

The Council will try whenever possible to make a mutually acceptable arrangement to reduce your arrears. By staying in contact with your tenancy sustainment officer we can work with you to resolve the matter.

What will happen if you do not pay your rent:

  • Stage 1: Missed rent payments / paying less than you should we will contact you. If you do not clear your arrears or they increase still further, we will contact you again asking you to clear them and to engage with us try to reach a mutually acceptable agreement. We will offer you advice, and with your prior agreement if applicable refer you to other specialist and experienced free of charge debt advisors and / or offer you advice.  

  • Stage 2: If rent remains unpaid, or you fail to contact the Council you will receive a formal legal notice called a “Notice of intention to Seek Possession” that gives you a minimum of four weeks’ notice that we may take you to court. Please thus contact the Council during this four-week period to either reach an agreement or to clear the rent arrears. Once the four-week notice period has passed the Council then has the legal right to start formal court action at any time during the next 12-month period by applying for a summons of possession from the Nuneaton Count Court.

  • Stage 3: A formal Court hearing takes place usually at the Nuneaton County Court. The County Court Judge decides what court order is made after hearing evidence from both the landlord and tenant. Tenants can ask a Court based duty solicitor to represent them at the hearing free of charge. If the Judge is satisfied that the tenant has offered a suitable repayment plan, they are likely to order a suspended possession order on terms, which enables the tenant and their family members to remain living at the property subject to complying with the terms imposed by the court. The Council will ask the courts permission to reclaim their court costs from the tenant which are currently £355 for a summons of possession. Other court orders can be made ranging from an adjournment to immediate possession dependant on the facts of the case. Tenants are strongly advised to fully engage with the landlord during the period prior to the court hearing.

  • Stage 4: If you fail to comply with the terms of the court referred to above in stage 3 and are unable to provide a satisfactory reason why not or fail to engage with the Council at all, then the Council will apply for a “Warrant of Possession” that will lead to the County Court instructing Court bailiffs to repossess the property at a specific date and time. Tenants will receive a minimum of 14 days’ prior notice of the repossession. If you do nothing prior to the date of the repossession, the bailiffs will repossess the property. You and any family members living at the property will have to leave the property, remove all your furniture and effects, and all external door locks will be changed, and the keys will be retained by the Council. Prior to the date of the repossession tenants can apply for a “Warrant Suspension Hearing” which will lead to a court hearing held prior to the date of possession at which the tenant can present evidence via a duty solicitor to the Judge asking that they be allowed to remain living at the property. Tenants are strongly advised to seek the help and advice from the Tamworth advice centre or a solicitor when applying for a warrant suspension hearing. Unless on benefits the tenant will have to pay the court costs for the hearing which are in the region of £14 and must attend in person. The Judge will then decide whether to allow the tenant and their family to remain living at the property subject to terms or that the planned repossession should proceed.   

  • Stage 5: If the repossession proceeds you and your family will have to make alternative arrangements for your future housing needs. You can contact housing solutions for advice about homelessness who will assess your circumstances and will determine what help if any you are legally entitled to. It is possible that you may be found intentionally homeless as the reason you were evicted was due to the fact that you breached the terms of your tenancy agreement and hence the Council may have either no or a very limited further duty of care for your housing. Every case is considered on its own merits. You will not be permitted to return to the property from which you have just been evicted.

Note

  • The above is a summary of the process that is followed. The process is complex, and your tenancy sustainment officer can offer you more detailed advice as to where you are in the process and importantly what action you can take to prevent you and your family from reaching stage 5 and being evicted from your home.

  • Most rental properties in the private sector will have higher rents and more limited security of tenure as most are let on an “Assured Short hold Tenancy” that last 6 or 12 months. You are strongly advised not to risk losing your Council tenancy by complying with the terms of your tenancy agreement, by paying your rent, not acting in an anti-social manner, and following all the other terms of your tenancy, such as not damaging the property and using the property as your main and principal home and not subletting it out. Please thus read and understand the terms of your tenancy agreement, and if you do have any further questions, please contact either the income team or the Estate management team on 01827 709514 who will happily assist you.  

Money Navigator Tool

For anyone who wants free help and advice regarding their finances can use the online money navigator tool web site shown below. It provides up to date guidance based upon individual circumstances.

There is information on:

  • what issues individuals need to deal with first,
  • ways of staying on top of bills,
  • how to find extra support,
  • where to get extra help.

Click on the link below to access the tool.

www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en/money-troubles/coronavirus/money-navigator-tool
 

Additional Help from the Government

For details about what additional help may be available to you please go to the website: https://helpforhouseholds.campaign.gov.uk/