Your rent payment typically covers items such as the following:

• The cost of providing and maintaining the home
• Repairs to the structure, roof, doors, windows, and internal fixtures.
• Heating systems and buildings insurance.
• General housing management services

Service Charges are additional charges for services provided in communal or shared areas of a housing estate or block. They are payable with your rent and make up the total amount payable. They are calculated to recover the costs of providing these services.

Depending on where you live, these may include the following, though others may also apply:

• Cleaning and lighting of shared areas (e.g. stairwells, hallways)
• Grounds maintenance and gardening
• Caretaking services
• Communal heating, hot water, and laundry facilities
• CCTV, door entry systems, lifts, and fire alarms

If you pay a service charge you will get a break down of the costs and what the money is for each year.

If you live in an Independent Living scheme, the types of costs are the same as those listed above but will also include other items, such as the cost of the Scheme Manager and the maintenance of alarm systems.

You can pay your rent using the following methods:

• Direct Debit
• Standing Order
• Post Office
• Payzone
• Telephone Payments
• Online Payments

For more information regarding how to pay any outstanding fees using these methods, please visit our How to Pay Your Rent page.

If you do not pay your rent, we can go to court to get legal permission to evict you from your home. If you are having difficulty paying your rent or service charges you should always contact your Income Management Officer straight away before getting into trouble, as they will be able to offer you advice and support to help

You may also want visit our having difficulty paying your rent page to find out how we can help.

In some sheltered schemes or blocks of flats there is a communal boiler which provides heating and hot water to the properties. If you live in one of these properties, a weekly charge is included with your rent. Where flow meters are not, or cannot be provided, the charge is calculated by dividing the annual cost of energy to reflect the number of radiators in each property. Where flow meters are provided, the weekly charge is estimated based on previous history, but is adjusted on the rent account at the end of each year to reflect the actual energy use in each property.

Your rent is calculated in accordance with the Government's Rent Restructuring Guidelines, using these factors, either locally determined or provided by the Government.

• Property Valuation
• Average Earnings In The Lancaster District
• Number Of Bedrooms
• Percentage Rent Increase
• Maximum Rent Increase.

The property valuations only change where major improvement works have taken place, and will only affect rent from the next rent year.

If we have to put up your rent and or/service charge, we will always give you at least 28 days written notice. Each March you will receive written notice of rent and any charges increase for April onwards. A full breakdown of the charges is sent with each year's Notice of Rent Increase. The notice will always describe the average rent increase for all tenants. Your actual rent increase is described in How Your Rent Is Calculated. It may be more or less than the average.

During each rent year there are a number of 'no collection' weeks which means that your normal rent is not due for these weeks. However, payments should still be made if you have rent arrears. Each year you will be sent a 'Rent First Please' card - the no collection weeks will be detailed on the back of this card.

From time to time a tenant may accrue other debts, eg court costs or rechargeable repairs. The council has a policy that allows any existing credit on a rent or any other account to be transferred to help pay other debts - up to £500 without agreement with the tenant. Any additional balance over £500 is decided through negotiation with the tenant.