Advice

Times are tough at the moment and a lot of people are worried about money. On this page we hope to provide some useful advice and contacts.

Making the Most of Your Money
The film below has lots of useful tips and advice about how to make the most of your money. Whether you are working or on benefits, it is worth watching. It contains useful contact numbers at the end.

Having Problems with Your Rent or Other Debts?
Paying your rent on time and in full is the best way to ensure you do not run into difficulties with your finances.  It also means that we can carry out our obligations as a responsible landlord to you and every other tenant. 

The links below explain in more detail:

StepChange Debt Charity is the UK’s leading charity aimed at helping people overcome their debt problems. They offer a range of solutions, such as IVAs or DMPs, and can advise on how to deal with a bailiff or a CCJ.

Why not take their 60-second debt test to see how they can help?

Click here if you need advice on arrearsIf you are having problems paying your rent, please talk to us!

Affected by the Bedroom Tax?

Big changes happened to welfare benefits as a result of Government spending cuts – such as increased deductions from Housing Benefit for adult sons and daughters living at home – but most of the changes will come into effect later this year.

Many residents have been asking us about the change relating to ‘under occupancy’, more commonly known as the ‘Bedroom Tax’. Residents who are under retirement age, have a spare bedroom and claim Housing Benefit will see their benefit reduced by an average of £14 per week per ‘spare’ room.

What are your options?

Set out below are the options available to you. If you have not already, please consider these options when planning how you will manage in the face of these changes.
Options:
1. Pay the difference.
2. Move to a smaller home.
3. Find a job or work longer hours.
4. Take in a lodger.
5. Ask family members to contribute more.
6. Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP).
For more details about the options outlined above, click here or download the one-page leaflet attached here. Click here for our leaflet entitled ‘Renting out Your Spare Room’.
For a copy of the National Housing Federation’s leaflet on the ‘Bedroom Tax’, click here.
Hexagon will need to know what option you are going for, so please contact your Housing Officer to discuss this and to see what help we can offer.

How you can Check your Rent Account Balance

We will send you a statement of account every quarter. You can ask the Customer Services Centre to send you a statement at any time, or you can get a balance over the phone. (We will ask some security questions first.)

We will send a statement of account with most of our letters to you about rent arrears.

You can register to see your rent statement online using ‘seemydata’. Contact our Customer Services Centre on 020 8778 6699 or Freephone 0800 393 338 to register. You will be sent a password that will enable you to see your rent account online.