Northumberland County Council is urging its tenants to put their rent first this Christmas.
The council, which owns 8,500 homes across the county, has today (Mon) launched its annual Think Rent campaign. It aims to make tenants aware of the importance of their rent payments and the options available to them if they are experiencing problems paying their rent.
Tenants who are currently in rent arrears will be contacted by the council’s housing team over the coming weeks and given advice on how they can continue to pay their rent over the Christmas period, in order to clear, or reduce their arrears.
The campaign will also once again encourage as many tenants as possible to transfer their payments to Direct Debit, in preparation for the roll out of Universal Credit from July 2018.
Coun John Riddle, cabinet member for housing, said: If you are in financial difficulty and need support and advice, then we are here to help you.
“We understand that it can be difficult to manage your money especially over the Christmas period – so we are here to offer advice on how to budget over this expensive period.
“By transferring to Direct Debit now, tenants will already have the means of making this direct payment when Universal Credit is introduced, making the transition much easier for them.”
For more information on paying your rent, please our Customer Contact Centre on 01670 542424.