Housing assoc 1 month rent in advance advice?

[Chiefofstaff]

I moved into my HA flat 12 years ago and remember being asked to pay a month's rent in advance which seems fair enough. Next month I'm moving to a new build flat in the same HA and they're asking for a months rent in advance on it. Surely the months rent 12 years ago should be offset against the month upfront on the new flat? I'm leaving my flat in far better condition than it was when I moved in? It's not like it's a different HA and I've paid rent on my flat by monthly direct debit with no issues since I moved in. I am sure they're going to come up with some reason why I need to pay upfront this time but is it normal for them to ask for it? TIA

Won’t you get your original month in advance back to use?

Rent in advance is just that. It’s not a deposit. So you just carry on always paying rent in advance, surely?

No, you paid rent in advance not a deposit.

So you paid in January (for instance) to live in the current flat through the month of Feb. In Feb you paid for March. And so on.

But if you're leaving at the end of April, you've paid for April already in March, so you'll pay for May (your first month in the new flat) in April. You won't pay 2 lots of rent in advance in the same month. Does that make sense?

Thanks everyone. I'm struggling to get my head round this. So if my next direct debit for my present flat will be paid to HA on 5th of the May and i'm moving into new flat on 17 th of May (I sign new tenancy agreement tomorrow) then if I pay a month upfront on the new flat upfront not sure how I'm not paying 2 lots of rent this month ?

You should only pay rent on the old place from 5th - 17th may, so not a full month, if you are not staying for the full month and that ties in with your notice period. I don't know how notice periods work through the council when you are moving from one tenancy to another though.

Thanks. I'll ask tomorrow and say I hope that I'll only be paying for my current flat until 17 may. I get really confused with this sort of thing and don't want to just end up agreeing to whatever they ask if it's not right or reasonable.

If the housing association are arranging the move then they presumably are
Aware and agree your move out date, so I think that is a good argument to support you only paying until the 17th. However, they may still want the full month for the new property and have your rent date running from 17th to 17th or the month.
I would think though that they should part charge you for the old property and part charge you for the new property and keep your date the same because they are moving you.

If that doesn't work, I would then ask if you can move on the 5th (either may or June) so your rental period remains the same and you then move out at the end of a rental period.

Was there a reason you have to move on 17th or could that work?

It may also depend on when you move as you will presumably have at least 1 day in both properties. So may cost more for 1 month anyway.
I moved from a private rent to a HA and had to start paying rent as soon as I'd agreed to the property as it was a new build, but had only just paid a month's rent upfront in my current place, helped in the move across but not financially!

swapsicles and zaffa Mine is a new build and I was given the moving in date of 17 May. I think mine is one of the first moves as they’ve still got more work to do on it. I’ve not been told about needing a notice period and am moving out and then straight in to the new flat. I’ll ask if I can pay up to 17th this month in mine. It’s going to be a huge ask to pay two lots of rent in such a short space of time.

Good luck OP I hope it works out well. I think it would be unrealistic to expect you to pay both lots of rent if they have given you the moving dates etc - but I know things don't always follow logic. I hope it all goes well, and enjoy the new house!

Thanks so much Zaffa my appointment is at 11 and I have a list of questions.

How did it go @Chiefofstaff?

zaffa. Thanks for asking. They are going to check what I paid when I moved in and offset it against the one month up front on the new flat. I’d be very surprised if they can find their records though. I asked them to check something from about 7 years ago and they said they hasn’t got them. I do remember being asked to pay a months rent before I first moved though.

That's good - good luck with it all!

So your tenancy is continuing not starting fresh? It should be on your rent statement that your amonth ahead can uou not check that they are supposed to give you one yearly

It wouldn’t be unusual to have a bit of overlap of payment and to pay for both for a couple of weeks.

Only if the contract ends on 17 May and other starts the exact same day should you find you’re not paying for both at any point.

It could be your original one goes up until 5th month, if that’s when you started. They might work in full months. And because your new one starts on 17th you’ll be required to pay then, even though your other property still has 2 weeks to go.

However, as it’s the same HA and not private rented, there’s some chance that they can sort this out for you. The thing to stress is that you don’t want to be paying for 2 properties at any point. Ask if they can co firm that won’t be the case. Ask for it all in writing too.

Good luck - a new build sounds nice. I’ve never lived somewhere brand new.

Thanks for the advice Wombat. Hopefully they will just offset the amount I paid upfront when I first moved on to the estate against the month upfront they want for new flat (if they can find that on their records !). It’s really exciting. I’ve never lived anywhere new before and as my flat is over 60 years old and freezing cold and damp with no insulation, I can’t wait to move in. Theunamedcat. It’s the same HA but I’m signing a new tenancy. I will move out my flat and into new one on the same day, so hopefully there won’t be any overlap. Nothing ever seems to go smoothly here though so I’m just crossing my fingers . Thanks Zaffa. I can’t wait.