Rent Increase 2023/24

The rent should be paid on Monday for the week ahead. If you do not do this, your account will be in debt and we will send you arrears letters.

If you pay your rent monthly, your rent should be paid one month in advance.

Our preferred payment method is by Direct Debit.  You can set this up via myhomeonline, e-mail us at: customerservices@emh.co.uk or call us on 0300 123 6000.

Yes.  You can now download an App to your tablet, PC or smartphone from either iTunes or for android.  Search for allpay and download the app.

You will be able to set up a payment facility using your reference number from the allpay payment card together with your debit or credit card. For more information check out the allpay website.

Yes.  You can make rent payments using your debit or credit card on the allpay website.  You will need to follow the on-screen instructions and have your swipe card numbers to hand.

If you have access to your bank or building society account using a PC you can choose to pay your bill using home banking.

Please quote our bank account sort code 20-25-93, account number 10476021 and your customer reference number. If you do not quote your customer reference number when setting up your payment, credit to your account will be delayed.

Yes.  You can use your Allpay swipe card anywhere you see these logos.

Yes.  Call us on 0300 123 6000 using our 24-hour automated payment line, using your credit or debit card quoting your rent reference numbers from your allpay swipe card.

No.  If you pay by Direct Debit we'll alter this for you, and you'll receive a notification directly from allpay.  Please check that the details contained in the allpay notification are correct.

Yes. You'll need to contact your bank immediately to alter the amount of your payments.

If you’re receiving Universal Credit you must let the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) know about this change in rent via your on-line journal immediately after your rent has changed– to ensure you receive all the benefits you’re entitled to.  We will not notify the DWP and you may risk being under or overpaid your housing element and this would be recovered from you.

If your rent is charged weekly, it is due to be sent to your online account on 4 April 2022.  If your rent is charged monthly, it is due to be sent on 1 April 2022.

You will need to ensure you complete the ‘Confirm your housing costs’ ‘to-do’ section of your on-line Universal Credit journal and make sure it is updated on the date of your rent change. Do not use the 'Change of circumstances' section to report an annual rent change.

If Housing Benefit pays for your rent, or part of your rent, you should get an increase in benefit to help pay your rent. If you do not get Housing Benefit, now, you should contact the Housing Benefit office to make an application. The rent figures and charges quoted in the letter do not take into account any Housing Benefit you may get towards your rent. The weekly amount of benefit you are due to get will be shown in your entitlement letter from the Housing Benefit department.

Yes, but we will also inform Housing Benefit of all rent variations.

You can arrange for your Housing Benefit to be paid directly to us.  Please contact us by e-mail: customerservices@emh.co.uk or call us on 0300 123 6000 to arrange this.

If your Housing Benefit is not enough to cover all of your rent, you'll need to make up the difference by an alternative payment method.

If you don’t agree with the new charge, please talk to us first and we’ll try to find a way forward.

If you don't accept the proposed new rent and wish to dispute your rent variation you can appeal to the First Tier Tribunal (Property Chamber).  Further details on this process are also included on the webpage.

As a profit-for-purpose association, we invest every penny we collect from your rent into providing good quality homes and services.

Emh uses the rent money it receives to invest in delivering services, maintaining existing homes, and building new homes for those who need them the most.

With high inflation costs, everything costs more including materials and labour.  Emh must also ensure its homes meet standards set by the government on quality and safety.

Emh must ensure its homes are energy efficient. This is a good thing as it will reduce wasted energy and the carbon footprint of emh’s homes, as well as enhancing the standard of the property. Although there is a cost to making our homes energy efficient, over time it will result in energy savings for our customers. All emh properties must have an Energy Performance Rating (EPC) of C or above by 2030 and the estimated cost of achieving this is approximately £109m.

Emh is also required to reduce the carbon footprint of its homes, resulting in lower levels of greenhouse gas emissions, which is better for the planet. By 2025 all new properties that emh builds must not rely on fossil fuels such as gas. This means we will be using new, more efficient methods for heating, when existing heating systems are replaced as well as installing these in new properties. An example of this is air source heat pumps. Over 1,000 emh properties already have these.

If you are struggling to pay your rent, please do talk to emh.  We are here to help you, and have staff who understand, and can give you advice and support. Talking to us sooner means we can help you before the situation gets worse. We will give you advice and will try to reach a repayment agreement to enable you to clear your arrears. We will also tell you about agencies who can offer free and independent money and debt advice.

We take a firm but fair approach to arrears.  We will always try to work with you to help you to get back on track.

It is our policy when dealing with rent arrears to serve a ‘Notice of Seeking Possession’ when arrears reach a certain level.  This legal notice does not mean that you must leave your home when it expires. However, you must clear your arrears or keep to an arrangement to pay them. If you fail to do this, we will take you to court to recover the debt and possibly repossess your home.

This may result in a County Court Judgement against you, making it difficult for you to get credit in the future and a possession order, which may result in you being evicted from your home. You will also be charged the court costs which are currently £355.

If you have any other questions regarding your rent or service charges please contact us by emailing:

rent&servicechargequeries@emhhomes.org.uk.