Customer Services
About rent, benefits & council tax payments
Same rent - more for your money
In fact, rent will be the same with Merton Priory Homes as it would be if homes had stayed with the council. The Government recognises there have been differences in rent for similar types of properties under different landlords.
It has laid down rules to limit rent increases and the council was setting rent in line with these rules for the last few years. These rules are the same for Merton Priory Homes. So tenants can be certain rent will not go shooting up because of transfer.
The key difference is that tenants will now get more for their rent money. This is because the new organisation has the money needed to bring homes up to modern standards – that includes street properties and homes on estates.
We will now be delivering thousands of new kitchens, bathrooms, new front and back doors and new double-glazed windows, together with estate improvements for walls, fences, gates and external decorations, for example. All for the same rent tenants would have paid to the council.
Here’s how rent is worked out
The Government’s rent policy limits every tenant’s rent rise to a maximum of inflation, plus 0.5%, plus £2 per week in any year up to 2016. This applies post-transfer to Merton Priory Homes.
After 2016, Government policy says rent increases should be limited to a maximum of inflation plus 0.5%. Again, this applies to Merton Priory Homes.
We guarantee to increase rent in line with current Government rules in the first five years, regardless of any change in Government policy.
Rent facts
As Merton Priory Homes, we will:
- Continue to have one rent increase each year – just like with the council
- Keep rent free weeks
- Continue to have different ways to pay your rent
Housing Benefit
Entitlement to claim Housing Benefit is not affected by transfer.
Being clear on Council Tax
Council Tax is a local tax, set by councils to help pay for local and borough-wide services like refuse collection, highways, policing and the fire service. It does not pay for housing maintenance or housing services.
Council Tax is not, and cannot, be used to pay for repairs needed to tenants’ homes or to fund the improvements that are needed to bring them up to modern standards. It does not pay for lighting, graffiti removal and grounds maintenance, for example, on housing land and estates.
As residents of Merton Priory Homes, you will still have to pay Council Tax to Merton Council unless you are entitled to benefit payment.
Circle energy savers
- Get handy energy-saving tips from our Energy Savers website >
- Watch our energy saving films >
House Exchange
Click house exchange website for details of how you can join the scheme and exchange your home.
