Worried about paying your rent this Christmas? | Tenant news

Christmas can be an expensive time of year - the cost of food, presents, heating and festive activities can quickly put pressure on your household budget.

If you're worried about paying your rent, there's no need to wait until you've missed a payment before asking for help.

Here are some ways to help you manage your money and find out what support is available.

Plan ahead

Planning ahead can help you avoid extra money worries in the new year.

Start by listing your regular bills, including rent, energy, food and travel. Work out how much money you have coming in and what your top priorities are – your rent should always be paid first.

Set a budget for Christmas presents, food and activities, based on what you can afford. You could try making homemade gifts, sharing the cost of a festive meal with family or looking for free local events.

Try not to take on extra borrowing to cover Christmas costs, as repayments could put more pressure on your finances later.

Talk to us

If you think you’re already behind with your rent or you think you might struggle with finances over Christmas and into the New Year, please contact Habinteg's Rent Assist team as soon as possible.

The team will talk through your situation, help you understand your options and work with you to agree an affordable repayment plan if you've fallen behind with your rent.

Call Habinteg Direct on 0300 365 3100 and ask for Rent Assist or speak to your local Neighbourhood Coordinator. If you don’t know who that is, Habinteg Direct will be able to provide contact details.

Benefits check

Checking that you're receiving all the benefits you're entitled to could help increase your household income and make it easier to manage your rent and other bills.

Habinteg works with Disability Rights UK to offer all tenants a free benefits check. This looks at your income and any benefits you’re receiving to see if there's anything else you could claim.

You can ask the Rent Assist team for a referral, regardless of your employment status or whether you're behind with your rent.

Your local council may also be able to help you with a Discretionary Housing Payment if you're receiving Housing Benefit or the housing element of Universal Credit and need extra help with your housing costs.

Free money advice

If you're struggling to manage your bills or debts, there are other organisations who offer free independent advice that can help you work out what to pay first and make a plan for dealing with what you owe.

Those organisations include:

• Citizens Advice: 0800 144 8848 or citizensadvice.org.uk
• National Debtline: 0808 808 4000 or nationaldebtline.org
• Shelter: 0808 800 4444 or shelter.org.uk

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