Are you struggling to pay your rent?

We know this time of year is hard, especially with the rising cost of living. We don’t want you to struggle in silence and fall behind on your rent. If you are finding things tough, please contact us.

You can talk to our dedicated Tenancy Sustainability Team who will be able to help you. Please use our live web chat Monday to Friday 8am until 5pm or call us on 0333 320 4555.

While it is understandable that you might be anxious about telling us that you are going to be late with the rent, it is far better to discuss this with us, so we can explore how we might be able to assist you.

First, we would encourage you to use a budget planner to work out the shortfall between your monthly income and your expenses. The Money Advice Service also has some excellent budget planning tools to help you budget better.

Once you have done this, try to look at ways you can cut back on spending or boost your monthly income to close the gap. We know that cutting back can be difficult, but ensuring you maintain your tenancy is far more important, which is why you need to act now.

Ask yourself the following questions:

• Can you stop any of your regular monthly expenses or cut back on any luxuries?
• Are you on the cheapest tariff for all your monthly bills – gas, electric, mobile, broadband?
• If you have credit card debt, can you switch to a 0% credit card and save yourself some interest payments?
• Are you overspending in other ways, like socialising and clothes shopping? We know you’ll agree paying the rent is your priority.

Extra expense at Christmas

Are you feeling the pressure to spend a lot more at Christmas? We understand why, but in the longer term it is far more critical to be able to pay the rent. The Martin Lewis Moneysaving Expert website has a useful blog on saving money at Christmas - www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/christmas-savings/

We have also put together a list of ways to save money during the festive period: Saving money this Christmas 

So, if you are having problems paying your rent call us as soon as you can on 0333 320 4555. You can also find some helpful information and links on the cost of living hub on our website.   Cost of living hub