Rent
1: You must pay the first week's rent when you sign up for your tenancy. You must then pay your rent, including any service charges, every Monday for the week ahead.
2: If you are a joint tenant, you and the other joint tenant (or tenants) are equally responsible for paying all of the weekly rent and any arrears (previously unpaid rent). We can ask for all of the rent owed from any joint tenant. A joint tenant who leaves your home is still responsible for the rent, and so is a joint tenant who lives in your home on their own.
3: If you owe rent for a previous Brent Council home, we will add these arrears to your rent for this tenancy. We can then use any money we receive from you to pay your arrears before your current weekly rent.
4: We can change the rent at any time by giving you at least four weeks' notice in writing.
5: If we owe you any compensation for any reason relating to your home, and you owe us money for rent or any other debt related to your home (but not Housing Benefit or Council Tax), we will use your compensation to reduce your debt or arrears.
6: If we take you to court, we may add the costs of the case to the amount you owe us for rent.
7: If we lose money because you don't let us into your home to do necessary work, we may add that money to your rent or any amount you owe us.
Notes
a: As long as you pay your rent on time, you will not run up rent arrears. If we do not receive your rent by the Friday after it was due, you will be considered to have rent arrears.
b: If you owe us rent, we will deal with you firmly but fairly. We will give you support and debt counselling and make arrangements for you to pay the arrears in amounts you can afford if necessary. If you do not pay your rent and arrears, we will take firm action which could lead to you being evicted.
c: We will offer you a number of different ways to pay your rent.
d: We would not normally consider offering you alternative housing you if you owe us any rent.
e: Some tenants must pay an extra charge on top of their basic rent for extra services they receive. If these charges apply to you, they will be listed in your tenancy agreement. These charges may cover:
- A 'concierge' service; or
- heating.