Former Tenant Arrears

What is a 'former tenant'?

A former tenant is someone who rented a Merton Priory Homes property or garage in the past. They may have left the borough, carried out a mutual exchange, purchased a property, transferred to another Merton Priory Homes or Circle Anglia property, another organisation, or died.

How can I make sure I have no arrears when I leave?

• When you leave the property you must give Merton Priory Homes four weeks notice in writing.

• If you claim housing benefit you need to tell Merton Benefits Service the date when you are leaving the property and details of your new address.

• Please make sure you hand your keys in before midday on the Monday. If they are not received on the Monday you will be charged full rent for another week

• If I have arrears on my rent account already how can I arrange to pay them when I leave?

• It is always best to leave your property with no arrears however if you have arrears you can make arrangements to pay these by completing an agreement form when you hand in the keys to end your tenancy and contact the Senior Arrears Officer who is responsible for former tenant arrears on 0300 500 3000.

• If you move to another Merton Priory Homes or Circle Anglia group property, we will be entitled to use your subsequent payments of rent and other charges to settle any monies owed by you on your former tenancy.

• If you leave a property with arrears and whilst already subject to a court order, you will still be bound by this order. No agreements can be entered into and failure to make the payments will result in us making an application to the County Court to have the money judgement against you enforced.

How can I make payment?

There are various ways you can make payments and these include:-

By Direct Debit.
Direct Debit is the easy way for you to pay what you owe us. You can instruct us to collect money from your bank or building society account. We will let you know:

• The date that we will collect the money
• How much we will collect

The direct debit scheme is quick and easy and you don't have to remember when to pay. The scheme is protected by the Direct Debit Guarantee. Direct Debit forms are available from our offices. Please ask us for the form.

Using the Allpay system
You can make payment using your former rent payment swipe card at post offices, shops and garages across the United Kingdom showing an e.pay, Payzone or Paypoint sign. Go to www.allpay.net to find out your nearest place to pay.

By Text
You can also pay your rent by text message, using our All Pay service.
To access this option you need to:-

Register with AllPay by going to their AllpaymentsText website
Provide your credit/debit card and AllPay payment card details and select a Text Code for your payment card. You will automatically receive a Text Password for each credit/debit card you want to use. Once you have registered, you will receive a welcome email and a text confirming that your registration has been accepted.

By credit or debit card.
You can make payments using a credit or debit card by calling the 24-hour Allpay
payment line, 0844 557 8321. You can also call the MPH offices during office
hours on 0300 500 3000, and an officer will make the payment into the Allpay
system for you. There will be no charge for paying by credit or debit card.

By standing order.
This can be be arranged with your bank or building society.
Standing orders are payable to:

Customer Name - Merton Priory Homes
Account Number - 39529134
Sortcode - 60-00-01

Or ask us for a form.

Pay your former tenant debt on-line.
You can pay your rent via www.mertonprioryhomes.org or you can pay
it directly on www.allpay.net. You will need to enter your former rent payment card number

What happens if I didn’t pay the arrears left on my account?

• We will contact you and give you the opportunity to make an arrangement to clear the arrears on your account.

• If the arrears were subject to a Court order before you became a former tenant we will contact you and give you the opportunity to continue making the payments ordered by the Court.

• If you do not pay these arrears we will pass your details to a Debt Collection Agency.

What happens if a family member dies and I need to settle their account?

• Housing Benefits will stop on the Sunday following the tenant’s death.

• It is important that the next of kin provides us with a copy of the death certificate and the keys to the property as soon as possible as this will legally permitt us to bring the tenancy to an end without the need for legal action.
  
• Full rent will continue to be charged until we can legally end the tenancy

I have received a demand from a collection agency - what does it mean?

• If you receive a demand from a collection agency it is because you have either ignored our previous requests for payment, you have failed to maintain a previous agreement, Court order or we have located you at your current residence.

• If you still ignore requests for payment, fail to maintain any agreements made with the collection agency or fail to maintain any Court orders, we will go to Court to obtain the money, get an attachment of earnings if you are working, apply for a charging order on any property you own, ask the Court bailiffs to come to your property to enforce the money judgement.

• Former tenant arrears can affect your credit ratings if you do not pay them.

• You may also have problems if you apply for housing in the future.

Warning

Where we have taken legal action against you, you will be liable to pay the court cost for us taking legal action, which will be added to the amount you already owe us.
If you have a problem with your money and want some free independent advice, the Money Advice Officer at the Citizen’s Advice Bureau(CAB) may be able to help.

Last modified 25/08/10