Rent Arrears
We know that people can find themselves in rent arrears for all kinds of reasons, and we understand that dealing with debt can be daunting.
Your Housing Office is here to help. If you are having difficulties paying your rent, we recommend you contact us straight away. The earlier you contact us, the more we can do to support you - Contact Us Online or call us on 01506 280000 and choose option 2.
If you don't pay your rent you will be included in our Responsive Arrears Process. This means that you will get letters, phone calls, and SMS notifications advising that you are in rent arrears. If this happens, your Housing Officer will contact you to find out if there is a problem. It is your responsibility to ensure your rent is paid on time and to contact us if you can't make your usual payment. If you build up rent arrears we can take legal action against you and you could be at risk of losing your home.
Pay your rent online
The Rent Advice and Assistance Leaflet [175KB] contains information on how to pay your rent and who to contact for assistance.
View your rent account and balance by logging onto the Tenant's self service portal (opens new window)
Rent arrears are managed in stages - it is not a quick process, and you will have multiple opportunities to work with your Housing Officer and access support services throughout. Stage 1 If you have a balance of more than one week's rent, you will get a system-generated text message advising you have rent arrears and should contact your Housing Officer. Your Housing Officer will progress your case to the relevant stage, this will be reflected by a code on our system. Your Housing Officer will attempt to contact you directly via telephone, or email. Stage 2 If you still have arrears, at this point your Housing Officer will arrange to visit you at your home. At this stage we will; Stage 2A If you have not been in touch, and have not cleared your arrears or entered into a payment plan, we will start to complete Pre-Action Requirements. This usually starts when you owe over £350. As part of the Pre-Action Requirements, your Housing Officer will provide advice and assistance, refer you to the Advice Shop, discuss ways to help you pay, such as requesting managed payments of Universal Credit, to pay your rent directly to West Lothian Council, and discuss making a payment plan. A Notice of Proceedings for Recovery of Possession is issued. This notice remains live for 6 months. We will issue this to the tenant and any "qualifying occupiers" who live with them. Stage 3 Your Housing Officer will continue to attempt to contact you via text, phone calls, and home visits. You must engage with your Housing Officer at this point. If you enter into a payment arrangement we will monitor your account. Stage 3A If your arrears have not been cleared, or you have not stuck to a payment plan, we will make a referral to court. First, the Housing Manager will attempt to contact you. If you engage, we will record your income and expenditure and will refer you to the Advice Shop again. You must work with the Advice Shop and your Housing Officer. If you reach this stage we advise you to obtain independent legal advice. Your case is then managed by the Corporate Debt Team. They will manage your case until we go to court to get a decree for your eviction. Stage 4 If you have not cleared your arrears, your case will go to court. You can still enter into an arrangement, or clear your arrears before your court date. When you are advised of your court date is essential that you attend. You must seek advice at this point as there is still a chance to prevent eviction. Final Stage If you have not paid your arrears, entered into a payment plan, or worked with us or an Advice organisation to resolve or reduce your arrears, we will arrange an eviction date. We have 6 months to do this from the point the Sheriff grants the decree. An appointment will be arranged with a Housing Options Officer to discuss your potential homelessness should we proceed with eviction. Eviction is a last resort; we hope you will work with us to reduce and manage your arrears before it gets to this stage.
If you are behind with your rent or worried you may struggle to make payment, don't ignore it. Arrears can escalate quickly; contact your Housing Officer as soon as you recognise there's a problem. Early intervention is key; an affordable payment plan can be put in place and referrals can be made to the Advice Shop to ensure you are receiving all the help you are entitled to.
If you are claiming, or plan to claim Universal Credit it is important that you tell us you have made the claim.
We would advise that you contact the Advice Shop, a money advisor may be able to help you:
- Deal with secured debts (money borrowed against property, such as a car)
- Deal with unsecured debts, this includes, credit cards, payday loans, personal loans
- Support with budgeting
- Exploration of debt management methods, including sequestration (bankruptcy).
For more information on the support available contact The Advice Shop and speak with a money advisor today.
Frequently asked questions
Your rent pays for the services you receive. A large amount of your rent goes into repairing and maintaining your home. Rent also goes towards upgrading your home, and the homes of other council tenants. If you fail to pay we can't do as much as we would like to do for you and our other tenants.
When you accepted your tenancy, you signed a legal agreement to pay your rent in advance and on time - this is detailed on page 3, Section 1.5 of your Scottish Secure Tenancy Agreement. If you don't pay your rent, you have broken the agreement and we can take court action against you that could put your home at risk.
If you are struggling to pay rent, you need to contact us straight away. Whether you've had a change of circumstances, benefit problems, financial trouble, or budgeting difficulties, talk to your Housing Officer and make them aware of your current situation.
We can help you take back control of your finances.
Your Housing Officer can refer you to the Advice Shop, or you can contact them directly, see The Advice Shop webpage. There are lots of ways the Advice Shop can help, such as conducting a benefits health check, offering support with budgeting, and helping you manage your debts.
Page 3, Section 1.5 of your Scottish Secure Tenancy Agreement, outlines your rent charge for the property and states rent charges are applied weekly and are payable in advance.
When a customer does not pay their rent in advance, our Housing Management System identifies this, and our arrears process is automatically triggered. At this stage our arrears process is system generated; West Lothian Council manages over 14,000 tenancies, so, automation is essential. If you want to avoid arrears notifications, you have to take steps to bring your account into credit. We recommend that you have enough credit in your account to cover your payment schedule. For example, if you pay weekly, a week's credit should be in place, monthly payers should have a month's credit, and so on.
There are a few ways you can bring your account into credit, for example;
- Make a one-off payment.
- Pay a small additional amount each month until there is a consistent credit showing on your account.
The way you pay your rent may also impact the length of time the payment takes to reach your account. If you use a third-party method, such as paying at the Post Office, there may be a delay in the payment you have made reaching your rent account.
Payment Method | Number of days to show on your rent account |
Direct Debit | Instant |
Customer Information Service (Payment Desks) | 1 day |
Online or Telephone | 2 days |
Bank Transfer | 2 days |
Post Office / Pay Point | 5 days |
Direct debit is the easiest and most efficient way to pay your rent; it ensures that you are up to date with your rent payments and removes the stress and inconvenience of paying by other methods. Payments made by direct debit are covered by the direct debit guarantee, this means that you are in control of your payments and your money is safe.
You can set up a direct debit payment online by completing the direct debit online form, or by calling 01506 280000 and selecting option 6. You will need your rent reference number. You can set up or amend your direct debit online.
Payment dates are available on the1st, 7th, 14th, and 21st of the month.
Even if your case is going to court, it's still important to pay your ongoing rent and make attempts to pay off your rent arrears. If you're unable to pay the rent arrears in full, we can offer you an affordable payment plan to reduce your arrears over an appropriate period. Should a maintainable payment plan be in place for the rent and arrears, a decision can be made to postpone any proposed court action. If you get notification of a court date, you must speak with your Housing Officer as soon as you receive the paperwork. It is very important that you attend court on the date on your letter.
No - your Housing Officer will work with you to create an affordable payment plan depending on your circumstances. We want to ensure any payment plan set can be maintained. If an unaffordable payment plan is set, it can make it very difficult to bring your arrears down and trigger further arrears stages.
If you have rent arrears you may be bypassed for offers of housing. If you are bypassed because of rent arrears, we will write to you to tell you why this has happened. If you want to move home, you must reduce your arrears to equal one month's rent, or sustain a repayment arrangement for at least three months. Our Allocations Policy states: "When letting houses, we must also disregard any arrears of rent or other tenancy-related debt which is less than one-twelfth of the annual amount payable. For example, any rent arrears of less than one month will not stop an offer of housing from being made. If an applicant is re-housed who owes us rent, we make appropriate repayment arrangements before the offer is made. This procedure is incorporated into our rent arrears management policy. If rent arrears are more than one month's rent, this will not stop an offer of housing from being made if applicants:
Yes - however, a decision will be based upon the value of rent arrears outstanding on the account, and your repayment history is also considered. If you have rent arrears and plan on making a mutual exchange request you must seek advice from your Housing Officer before applying.
Universal Credit housing costs, also known as the "housing element," is the financial assistance provided by the UK government to help people on Universal Credit pay their rent.
The amount of housing costs assistance you may be entitled to will depend on your individual circumstances, such as your or the household's income and the size of your household. This payment is made directly to the customer in arrears, on a four-weekly cycle and can result in customers owing a balance on their rent account.
Customers can opt for their housing costs to be paid directly to West Lothian Council and there are several reasons why a tenant may choose this:
- Simplifies budgeting and reduces the need for tenants to manage multiple payments
- Helps prevent tenants from falling into arrear
- Can help reduce the risk of eviction.
It's important to keep in mind if a customer owes more than 8 weeks of rent with no established payment plan, The Community Housing Officer can request an alternative payment arrangement (APA) to permit direct payments to the customer's rent account, along with an additional deduction from their personal allowance to lower the outstanding balance of arrears. The aim of the APA is to safeguard our customer's property and prevent additional rent arrears from accumulating.
It's important for our customers to weigh the pros and cons of direct payment and make a decision that is best for their individual circumstances. To opt for direct payments, please log into your online account. If you are experiencing any issues with your housing costs you can contact the UC helpline on: 0800 328 5644.
