How to Pay Your Rent
As a BCHA customer, it is part of your tenancy agreement to pay rent, and any other charges for your home, including your service charge. Rent payments are made on Mondays either weekly, fortnightly or monthly depending on your agreement.
You have a number of options to choose from to pay your rent:
Use allpay to make online payments. You will need to create an account, which will make it quicker and easier for making future payments. If you have a smart phone, you can download the allpay app.
Please make sure you go onto allpay to make your payments on time. It is handy to set up a reminder on your phone or on your calendar at home so you don’t forget.
A Direct Debit allows you to make regular payments from your bank account to another person or organisation. Once set up, your rent will automatically be paid to BCHA.
Please note that your bank will only be able to pay us your rent if you have enough money in your bank account. If there isn’t enough money in your account, then your bank will cancel the Direct Debit and you will be charged a fee.
To set up a Direct Debit to BCHA, download this form, print it off, fill in all of your details and post it to: Housing, BCHA, The Factory, 14 Alder Hills, Poole, BH12 4AS.
Alternatively, call a member of our team who will be able to help you set up a Direct Debit on 01202 410 500.
To make a one off payment over the phone, call our Customer Services Team with your debit card details.
Call: 01202 410 500 Monday – Friday 9am – 5pm
Once you have paid, you will be given a reference number as proof of payment. You can also request a receipt which we can email or post to you.
If you would like to pay your rent over the phone outside of BCHA’s working hours, you can call allpay who are available 24-hours a day, seven days a week.
Call: 0844 557 8321
If you have an allpay card you can go to any shop or Post Office that accept payments and pay your rent and service charge using cash – look out for the PayPoint logo.
Make your cheque payable to BCHA and put your rent account number (if you have it) and your name and address on the back of the cheque.
Post it to: BCHA, The Factory, 14 Alder Hills, Poole, BH12 4AS.
Cheques usually take 1 working day for the money to clear in our account so please leave enough time. If your rent is due on Monday it will need to reach us by the Friday before at the latest. You should also think about time for post to reach us, so posting your cheque a week in advance would be advised.
Rent Increases
We review our rent and service charges once a year in April. If your rent or service charge is going to change, we will write to you and let you know at least one month before it is set to change.
If your rent increases you must then either increase your payments or, if you get a housing benefit, tell the local council about the increase by showing them the letter we send you.
If you receive housing benefit, let your local council know when your rent changes so they can alter their payments.
If you want to appeal against a rent increase you can contact the Residential Property Tribunal Service.
What if you can't pay your rent?
We understand that circumstances can change and that not being able to pay your bills can be worrying. We offer advice and support to our customers who are having difficulty paying their rent.
As a tenant, you have a legal obligation to pay rent. It is the most important part of a tenancy agreement and goes towards paying for the services that we provide to you. If you miss payments, you will owe us this money and your account will be in arrears.
If you are having trouble paying you rent, you should seek advice as soon as possible. The first thing you need to do is contact your Income Recovery and Financial Inclusion Officer.
They will work with you to identify why you are unable to pay your rent, and try to help you sort the problem. If it is a temporary problem, for example, your Child Tax Credit has been delayed, then we can work with you to set up an agreement, establishing when and how you will pay your rent.
However, if there has been a significant change to your circumstances, for instance, if you have lost your job, your Tenancy Officer will advise you of your next steps, and how you can prevent your rent arrears from increasing.
One way for us to help you will be to work through an Income & Expenditure Form, this will show you exactly what money you have left over each month to go towards debts. It will also ensure that any agreements that you make to clear your rent arrears are affordable. As long as you continue to maintain these payments, we will not need to make any further contact.
If you would prefer to discuss your finances with an independent service, then please let your Income Recovery and Financial Inclusion Officer know, who will be able to provide you with some contact details.
What happens if you don't pay?
We do not recommend that you ignore your rent arrears – it is always best to speak to someone to help you get back in control of your finances.
Our Income Recovery and Financial Inclusion team will be able to offer you advice on ways to manage your money, and if you’re in arrears they will be able to help you find a way to pay these off.
The advice we can offer, includes:
- Information about housing benefit and any other benefits that you may be entitled to
- Advising you about how to manage any debts you may have
- Putting you in touch with an independent advice agency and a debt advice agency if we think they might be able to help you
Privacy Policy
The privacy and security of your personal information is important to us. Any contact with us generates records, which may include personal information which is subject to data protection legislation. BCHA follows UK legislation in how it stores and uses any data collected from individuals. Click the button below to learn more.
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