Paying your housing rent

South Ayrshire Council housing rents are charged on a fortnightly basis.

There are 24 charging fortnights per year and two non-charging fortnights per year (at the end of the financial year and at Christmas). However, tenants who fall in to arrears must continue paying through the non-charging fortnights.

Paying by Direct Debit

Direct Debit is the safest and easiest way to pay your Housing Rent. You can pay your rent monthly on the 1st or the 15th by Direct Debit.

If you have rent arrears you can set up a Direct Debit to pay these separately. If the amounts of your instalments change during the year, you do not have to give new instructions to your Bank or Building Society as we will do this for you. You can cancel a Direct Debit at any time.

If you are interested in switching to Direct Debit, or have any further questions please contact your local customer service centre.

Paying online

You can pay your Housing rent online through our secure online payment facility, using most major credit or debit cards (not Diners Card or American Express).

Pay your Housing rent online

Other ways to pay

By phone

Pay by debit or credit card over the phone on 0300 123 0900 by using our automated payment line by selecting option 1 and option 3. Please have your credit/debit card with you when making the call.

In person

At any customer service centre using cash, debit/credit card, cheque, or postal order. You can pay your rent weekly, fortnightly, 4 weekly or calendar monthly.

Please note that we are phasing out cash and cheque payments in all our Customer Service Centres. You can still pay by cash until March 2020, but we would encourage you to move to an alternative method of payment as soon as possible.

However, if you opt to pay 4 weekly or calendar monthly, you must pay your correct rent charge plus one additional fortnight in advance.

By payment card

You can pay your council house and lock-up rent using your Payment Card.

In addition to being able to pay your rent at Council Offices, this new Plastic Rent Card will give you the option to pay your rent at the Post Office, local shops or any other outlet that displays the Girobank or Paypoint facility.

Your payment card is not a credit/debit card and has no monetary value. The information on this card only tells us your rent account details so that we can credit your rent account accurately. Payments can be made by cash, cheque, or credit/debit card.

For details on your nearest outlet:

• additional outlets

You should be issued with a receipt each time you pay. Please keep these receipts and your card safe. If you lose your card please contact your local Customer Service Centre for a replacement, which will be sent out within 5 working days, during this time you can pay by any of the other methods detailed below.

By standing order

You can pay your rent by standing order weekly, fortnightly, 4 weekly or calendar monthly (depending on your bank).

You can obtain a standing order mandate from your local Customer Service Centre which you should complete, one copy should be sent to your bank, one sent to your local Customer Service Centre and one should be kept for your own records.

If you opt to pay 4 weekly or calendar monthly, you must pay your correct rent charge plus one additional fortnight in advance.

Paying your Former Tenant Arrears

Paying online

You can pay your Former Tenant Arrears through our secure online payment facility, using most major credit or debit cards (not Diners Card or American Express). The minimum transaction is £5.00 but you can pay 2 payments together to bring the total over £5.00.

Pay your Former Tenant Arrears online

By phone

You can pay your former tenant arrears by debit or credit card over the phone by calling 0300 123 0900.

Please have your payment reference number, credit/debit card with you when making the call. Please note that the minimum amount you can pay using this service is £5.00.

Non-charging fortnights

There are two fortnights each year where no rent is charged (periods 20 and 26 on your rent calendars).

Period 20  14^th December 2023 - 27^th December 2023

Period 26  7^th March 2024 - 20^th March 2023

If your rent is paid up-to-date, you do not need to pay anything, but if you are in arrears with your rent, you must pay during these two periods. This will help reduce the amount you owe us.

If you have rent arrears you must pay during the non-charging fortnight. Payments can be made at your local customer service centre. You can also pay by phone on 0300 123 0900 (24 hours a day) quoting your rent payment reference number.

Additional charges

For properties that have not been improved a £18.32 deduction will be applied to the above rental period charge.