Your rent

Our job in the rents team is not only to ensure that your rent is paid, but that you have access to all of the support available to enable you to be in a position to do so.

Should you need it, your Income Officer will make sure you get support with:

• debt advice
• budgeting advice
• benefit support, advice and appeals
• employment support
• advice on welfare reforms and access to support
• financial support for everyday expenses.

If you are having difficulty paying your rent, you should contact us immediately on 020 7926 8790 or you can send an email to RentsTeam@lambeth.gov.uk so that we can try to help you find a solution.

Affordable repayment plans

We may be able to help you set up a repayment plan to clear what you owe us.

Repayment plans are flexible and designed to suit your needs. There is a statutory minimum that you can contribute to your arrears which changes each year.

We can also check whether you are claiming the benefits you are entitled to, and can refer you to the right agencies for debt advice, counselling and support.

When we take legal action

If your arrears continue to grow and you do not take reasonable steps to clear them, we may take legal action to recover the money you owe. This could result in a County Court Judgement against you, and you could lose your home.

If you are evicted from your home because of rent arrears, you will be considered intentionally homeless and will not be eligible for re-housing by any council.

If you have rent arrears, you will also not be able to:

• exchange your property with another tenant or get a transfer
• rent a garage or parking space and, if you already have one, it may be taken away from you
• keep your right to buy your home
• stand for executive positions on your tenants’ and residents’ association
• get a mortgage – building societies or lenders will ask us for a reference about your rent payment record when you apply for a mortgage.