Your Rent and Service Charges Explained

Affordable Rent

2016

When you receive your annual rent and service charge

notice, you may have questions to ask. This guide

provides answers to most common questions, but if

you still need to contact us, here’s the information you’ll

need:

Call us on: 0330 100 0272

Email us at: info@bpha.org.uk

Write to us at: bpha Limited, Bedford Heights, Manton Lane, Bedford MK41 7BJ

Visit us at: bpha Customer Service Centre, St Paul’s Square, Bedford, MK40 1NY

This booklet is designed to explain more about your Affordable Rent and service charges.

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CONTENTS

4 Your Rent

5 How is Affordable Rent reviewed? 6 How is Affordable Rent calculated? 7 Service Charges Explained 9 How to pay 10 Worried about paying 11 Housing Benefit / Universal Credit

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YOUR RENT

Rent is payable on your property for the cost of providing, managing, maintaining and improving your home. The money we raise through rent collection goes back into providing services and maintaining our homes. Your rent helps to pay for the following services:

Repairs, maintenance and buildings insurance

of homes

Improving homes to make sure they reach

government standards

Office and staff costs Management costs, i.e. dealing with

neighbourhood issues and collecting rent

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HOW IS AFFORDABLE RENT REVIEWED?

Rental charges are based on Government guidelines. These vary for each type of rental product.

The product you have is detailed in your review letter.

This booklet is about Affordable Rent.

Affordable Rent is charged weekly.

If you’ve had the same weekly tenancy for more than one year, we’ll leave at least 52 weeks between rent

reviews.

If you’re within the first year of your tenancy, your initial rent review will be in April.

All subsequent reviews will be at intervals of 52

weeks or more.

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Formula Rent

HOW IS AFFORDABLE RENT CALCULATED?

Affordable Rent

Current Rent 1.0% -

Government guidelines set the formula for reviewing Affordable Rent as current rent minus 1.0%. With Affordable Rent, the rent was initially set at 80% of the market rents in your area, including service charges.

Service Charges Service Charges

(where applicable) are included in the overall rent. A breakdown is shown on your rent review letter. Read more on page 7. Your total rent figure will be reduced by 1.0%.

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SERVICE CHARGES EXPLAINED

A Service Charge is an additional payment towards the cost of providing and maintaining communal areas and services outside your home. You only pay for the services you receive.

For example, if you live in a block of flats with a communal garden, the cost of maintaining that garden is covered by a service charge because it is available to all residents and is outside of your home.

We do not make any profit from service charges.

The amount of the charge is the amount it costs to provide the service. Any services you receive are shown individually in your Notice of New Rent letter.

Examples of services covered could include:

Employing a caretaker Cleaning shared areas, including windows, and

removing dumped rubbish Cutting grass and looking after planted areas Repairs to shared facilities such as door-entry

systems, television aerials and lighting Providing and repairing lifts Providing fire fighting equipment, including

repairing and testing emergency lighting and smoke alarms

Providing water, electricity and gas supplies to shared areas

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Charges are based on the actual costs of providing services, together with the cost of future replacement where necessary.

For example, a carpet in a communal area may last 10 years – so the cost of replacing it would be divided over 10 years and collected gradually. The reason for doing this is to even the costs out over a longer period of time.

Where we provide a service such as grounds maintenance, the amount charged is the total cost of providing the service, divided by the number of people who receive the service.

We have visited all of our locations where services are provided and identified which properties should be paying for services. The letter you have received reflects the services you should be paying for. But if you feel this is incorrect, let us know and we will check the information we have on your property. If you agree that you receive a service but are not happy with the service provided, we would also like to hear from you.

We work hard to provide a good quality service at an affordable price, but please contact us with any concerns:

Call us on: 0330 100 0272

Email: rent&servicecharges@bpha.org.uk

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There are a number of ways you can pay your rent, so you can use whichever method is most convenient for you.

Call 0330 100 0272 and pay by debit card – lines are open Mon-Fri 8am-6pm / Sat 9am-1pm

HOW TO PAY

Set up an online account on our website at www.bpha.org.uk/myaccount to pay your rent quickly and easily

Set up a Standing Order with your bank, paid to bpha on a date of your choice. You’ll need to adjust the payment if your rent amount changes.

Send a cheque payment by post to us at bpha Limited, Bedford Heights, Manton Lane, Bedford, MK41 7BJ

You can request a Direct Debit form by calling us on 0330 100 0272. Payments will be adjusted automatically if your rent amount changes.

You can pay at a Post Office with your rent payment card. Don’t have one? Call us on 0330 100 0272 to register.

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OTHER PAYMENT METHODS

By PayPoint - in local shops and where advertised

Via allpay - log onto www.allpayments.net and pay your rent online anytime, free of charge (or download their free app)

Worried about paying your rent? Contact our Financial Inclusion Team on 0330 100 0272 for free, confidential advice on benefits you might be entitled to claim and help with budgeting and debt management.

If you currently have a payment arrangement with us in relation to rent arrears, please ensure that any adjustments made include payments towards your arrears.

We accept most major credit cards

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Housing Benefit/UC can pay for part or all of your rent. How much you get depends on your income and

circumstances. You can apply for Housing Benefit/UC whether you

are unemployed or working. You are responsible for claiming any benefits to help you

to pay your rent.

All our tenants pay rent, but we do not mind if some or all of it is paid from Housing Benefit/UC. It is your responsibility to make sure you understand your claim and keep it up to date. You must also respond to any letters that you get from Housing Benefit/UC. We cannot do this on your behalf.

If you receive Housing Benefit/UC you must take your

notice of new rent letter to your Housing Benefit office.

Although we will inform your local Housing Benefit

department of the change in rent, it is still your

responsibility to ensure that they are aware of the

increase in your rent, any change in your circumstances

and that your rent is paid on time and your account is up

to date.

OTHER PAYMENT METHODS

HOUSING BENEFIT/UNIVERSAL CREDIT

If you are on a low income, you could get Housing Benefit / Universal Credit (UC) to help pay your rent.

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If your Housing Benefit/UC is cut, it is your responsibility to cover any shortfall. Please be aware that you are in danger of losing your home if your account is constantly in arrears. If you are struggling financially see page 10. Recent changes to Housing Benefit/Universal Credit These changes do not apply to pensioners Benefit Cap (from April 2016) For some households if their benefit goes over a certain amount their Housing Benefit/UC will be cut. The allowances are: £384.62 per week for families £257.69 per week for single people and couples If your Housing Benefit/UC is cut you will need to pay the shortfall in your rent from your benefits and other income. Under Occupancy Deduction If you have more bedrooms than Housing Benefit/UC rules say you need, you will be classed as ‘under occupying’ your home and your benefit will be cut. The size of the bedrooms makes no difference. One bedroom is allowed for: Each single adult or couple A non-resident overnight carer if you or your partner are

disabled and need this care Up to two children under 16 of the same sex (so two girls

or boys must share but a girl and boy get separate rooms) 12

Up to two children under 10, regardless of sex (two children are expected to share even if a girl and a boy).

Your Housing Benefit/UC is reduced by 14% if you are under occupying by one bedroom and by 25% if you are under occupying by two or more bedrooms. Not everyone on Housing Benefit/UC is affected. Your housing benefit will not be cut if:

The number of bedrooms in your home is the same as the number you are entitled to

You are over state pension age and receive the state pension or pension credit

You live in a one bedroom home

Further to the basic summary on pages 5 & 6, here

you’ll find a more detailed explanation of Formula Rent.

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Email us at: info@bpha.org.uk Web-chat at: www.bpha.org.uk

Write to us at: bpha Limited, Bedford Heights, Manton Lane, Bedford MK41 7BJ

HOW TO GET IN TOUCH

Call us on: 0330 100 0272

Visit us at: Customer Service Centre, St Paul’s Square, Bedford, MK40 1SJ

Need help to understand this? For large print, audio or Braille, or community languages, please call 0330 100 0272

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