My Rent – FAQs

As a resident, you have to pay your rent in order for us to provide you with a home. All housing associations and private landlords charge rent and residents are expected to pay for the use and occupation of their property. Your rent also contributes towards repairs and essential services that we have to provide as part of your tenancy agreement. Income from your rent payments goes towards the upkeep and maintenance of your property and your neighbourhood.

There are lots of ways to pay your rent. The quickest and easiest way is to pay your rent through Direct Debit. You can also pay online, via an app or at a Paypoint. Visit the My Rent page to find out more information.

My Rent

Your rent is due every week and must be paid on time. You can choose to pay your rent weekly, every two weeks, fortnightly, four weekly or monthly – however – your rent must be paid in advance so that your account is in credit.

If you do not pay your rent on time, your rent account will go into arrears and we will enforce our rent arrears procedure.

If you cannot pay your rent on time, it is important that you contact our Income Team to discuss your options and can offer help, including payment plans. You can contact them via your My Rosebery account or talk to us via live chat.

If you don’t pay, you could lose some of the rights in which you enjoy as a resident. For example:
• You won’t be eligible for a New Kitchen or Bathroom (even if you are on the programme).
• You will not be able to rent a garage or if you have a garage then this will be removed.
• You could be subject to court action and in worst case, could lead to you losing your home

Yes – this ensures that your rent account is in credit. If you pay your rent weekly, you should be at least one week in advance in your rent account. If you pay your rent four weekly or monthly, you need to make sure you are four weeks or a month in advance with your rent account.

You can check your rent statements online by logging into your My Rosebery account.

To calculate your rent, we have to use a method introduced by the Government in 2002 called ‘target rents’. This means that rents are based on:

• how much your home is worth
• the average wage in the county you live in
• the number of bedrooms in your home.

We calculate your rent based on the Government’s formula. You’ll find out more information on this by visiting the DCLG website

If you have any money concerns, please talk to our Income Team via your My Rosebery account or talk to us via live chat. They will be able to talk you through your options. We also offer a Tenancy Sustainment service who can offer financial support, benefits advice and referrals to our support agencies.

A Notice of Seeking Possession (NOSP) is a legal document which will have been served if you have not paid your rent and marks the start of an eviction process. You must respond within 28 days of receiving a NOSP and make an arrangement to pay your rent. If you contact the Income Team within that timeframe and start paying your rent repayments – no further action will be taken at that time. If you do not contact us within 28 days we will write to the Court to ask for a hearing and you will be required to attend.

You will be notified in writing if you have a court hearing, which will include the date, time and place of your hearing. You will be sent a claim form, detailing why you are appearing in court and how much money you owe. You will also receive a defense form to fill in. You must seek advice from services such as Citizens Advice before you appear in court.

You can contact our Customer Experience Team who can offer advice and support and refer you to the Income Team.

If you are claiming Universal Credit, you must inform our Income Team who can refer you to our Tenancy Sustainment Officers.

As Universal Credit gets paid directly to you, you must make sure that you pay your rent directly to Rosebery and keep in advance with your rent.

The service charge that you pay us is for the maintenance of your communal areas and the services provided to you. Your tenancy agreement will set out the services.

The service charge is made up of a number of costs which may include:
1. Cleaning and gardening to shared areas
2. Door entry systems
3. Day-to-day repairs
4. Shared TV aerial maintenance
5. Fire safety equipment
6. Repair and replacement communal furniture
7. Lighting of communal areas

Service charges are calculated each year based on previous and estimated expenditure. At the end of each service charge year, an income and expenditure account is prepared.

This will show you whether costs have exceeded the service charge for that year. If costs have exceeded the amount taken in service charges then next year’s service charge will rise to allow for this. The service charge will also increase in line with inflation and with other known cost increases.