Specialist Income Management Service Standard

We aim to make it easy for you to pay your rent, provide accurate information about your rent account, and ensure you have the support you need to manage your tenancy effectively.

Your Rent Charges Explained

Your Rent — The total weekly rent charge made for your home is made up of: 

Net rent — The basic amount for you to occupy your home and for us to manage and maintain it.

Water rates (where applicable) — This charge covers your water supply, waste water and sewerage services.

Service charge (where applicable) — An extra amount covers services like caretaking and cleaning. 

Support charge (where applicable) — An extra amount covers the cost of the Careline service which may include a Housing Support Officer. 

Heating and hot water charge(where applicable) — If your heating or hot water comes from a communal boiler, there will be an extra charge for this service.

Garages, sheds, parking and stores (where applicable) — If you rent any of these sheds or store from the Council, the weekly charge will be shown as an itemised part of your total rent.  For garages, you will receive a separate payment card and be expected to pay one week in advance when you sign up for the garage. You will not have to pay VAT for a garage if you are a council tenant.

Changes to your rent — We will give you at least four weeks' written notice of any increase in your rent or service charge (except for changes resulting from your entitlement to Housing Benefit).

We will...

  • Give you a unique payment reference number and tell you how much you need to pay each week.
  • Make sure your rent is correct and is in line with our policy and government guidelines.
  • Advise you and help you to claim Housing Benefit if necessary and work closely with the Council’s Housing Benefit service to make sure your claim is dealt with as soon as possible.
  • Process your rent payments as quickly as possible; to make sure your account is accurate and up to date.
  • Send you a clear rent statement if you ask for one and explain how we work out your charges and balance.
  • Give you at least four weeks’ written notice of any increase in your total rent.
  • Tell you as soon as possible if you miss a rent payment.
  • Follow a clear procedure for recovering unpaid rent and explain each stage of the procedure to you.
  • Agree a suitable arrangement for you to pay any overdue rent.
  • Offer you advice on benefits and managing any debts or refer you to another agency that can do this.
  • Give you the opportunity to discuss your rent in confidence if you visit our office.
  • Take the time to explain your rent statement to you if you contact us.
  • Explain how we work out your rent and other charges and send you a more detailed explanation of the service charge if you ask for one.
  • Tell you the different ways you can pay your rent
  • Send you a quarterly statement of your rent account. If you need a statement at any other time please contact the Specialist Income Management Team, Tenancy Services Team or the Customer Services Team. 

You can help us by doing the following...

  • Pay your rent on time.
  • Contact us urgently if you have any difficulty paying your rent, so that we can help you at an early stage.
  • Claim any benefits that you are entitled to.
  • Ensure you respond promptly to any letters or notifications you receive from the Housing Benefit team or regarding your Universal Credit (UC) claim, and remember to update your UC journal with any changes.
  • Tell us and the Housing Benefit service about any changes to your personal circumstances, or if you are likely to be away from your home for more than thirty days.

We will only pursue eviction for non-payment of rent in exceptional circumstances.

Satisfaction and Monitoring

We are committed to engaging with residents regarding the services we provide, in order to continuously improve.

We will record our performance and will ask residents how satisfied they are with the service. We will share our performance information through our Insight Magazine and on our website here: Our Performance | South Essex Homes

If you are not satisfied with the service or would like to compliment the service you have received, you can do so in a number of ways:

  •   In writing:

South Essex Homes

Civic Centre, Victoria Avenue

Southend on Sea,

Essex SS2 6FY