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FAQs
Browse our list of frequently asked questions.
If the answer to your question isn’t listed, get in touch with us via My Account.
Rent and payments
Normally, a year has 52 weeks, but sometimes it has 53.
This means if you pay your rent weekly, you’ll have an extra week to pay. If you pay monthly, you’ll need to make sure the extra week is also factored in.
Find out more in our rent payment booklet [PDF]
If you have a payment card for your rent, your account number will be on this. If you don’t know your rent account number and need to know it, just contact us and we’ll be happy to help.
No, you can only pay your rent using My Account, Direct Debit or over the phone.
Yes, you can pay your rent using a card through My Account.
If your rent is charged weekly, it’s due on Monday. If you're charged monthly, your rent is due on the first day of the month.
You can set up a Direct Debit to automate your rent payments so you don’t have to remember to pay them.
First, double-check you have overpaid by checking your rent statement on My Account. You can request that any credit be refunded to you by contacting us through your My Account.
Yes, you can check your rent account and transactions anytime on My Account.
If you’re struggling to pay your rent, please let us know as soon as possible so we can help. You can contact us through My Account.
It’s really important you pay your rent on time. If you don’t, there could be serious consequences, and you could even lose your home.
Find out more on our Get help paying your rent page.
We provide affordable garage and storage space rentals across Birmingham and Coventry to both Citizen customers and the general public. Find out more on our Rent a garage or storage space page.
Repairs
If you’ve missed your repair appointment, you can rebook a new one on My Account.
Yes, most repairs can be cancelled or changed up to 24 hours before. However, some repairs, such as gas inspections and services, can’t be cancelled because it's crucial that we do this work.
Yes, if you, your family or visitors have caused damage to your home, you’ll have to pay for any repairs.
Most of the repairs we carry out in your home will be done by Citizen repairs operatives. However some repairs we may use specialist contractors and engineers.
If we’re very busy, we might ask our partner Axis to help us so we can get to your appointment more quickly.
We’ll let you know who’s carrying out your repair when you get your appointment slot.
Our repair operatives and contractors are required to carry identity cards, so you can be sure they are who they say they are. If you’re ever unsure about someone’s identity, contact us by phoning 0300 790 6555.
Emergencies are problems that pose an immediate health and safety risk to you, or the structure of your home has been damaged.
They include:
● gas leaks
● uncontainable water leaks
● complete loss of heating and hot water
● electrical or fire risk
● property security
If you have an emergency, let us know immediately on 0300 790 6555. We prioritise all emergency repairs and will deal with them within 24 hours, 365 days a year.
From April 2025, our target is to complete at least 85% of standard, non-emergency repairs within 25 working days.
More complicated repairs might take longer, but we’ll make sure you’re informed about this as soon as possible.
How quickly we can do your repair can depend on where you live.
You’ll be able to choose an appointment between 8am and 6pm, Monday to Friday. Emergency repairs are 365 days a year, and are completed within 24 hours or made safe until a permanent repair is possible.
Locks, keys and access
Yes, if you’re a tenant or leaseholder, you can arrange to have the locks on your home changed by contacting a locksmith.
If you’re a joint tenant, both of you will need to agree to the change and have new keys.
Locks on shared entrances can’t be changed.
Yes, you’re allowed to cut extra keys for your home if you want to. You will have to cover the cost of this.
We can also arrange for more fobs or keys to communal doors for you, but there will be a charge for this.
If you’ve been locked out, please phone us on 0300 790 6555. If your keys are lost or the lock is damaged, there may be a charge for replacement.
Finding a home
Yes, you don’t have to be on benefits to qualify for a home. As long as you have the funds, you can apply for a home to rent or buy.
Your local council manages the housing waiting list in your area. The time you wait for a home will depend on the demand in your area and other factors, like the type and size of home you need.
Generally, our homes are not furnished, but some white goods like a fridge may be included. This will be clear when the home is advertised.
Yes, we do need to see information about your income and expenditure and other paperwork to be able to offer you a tenancy.
We don’t usually offer housing for under-18s, however, we do have some specialist and supported housing for care leavers who may be under 18.
This accommodation will be allocated through your local council. If you're a care leaver, you should get in touch with your personal advisor to discuss what housing options are available to you.
If you decide to accept an offer we make, we’ll advise you when you will need to bring in your supporting documents. You’ll be asked to pay the first week’s rent before you move in.
Once we’re happy that you can manage the tenancy and you’ve paid your first week’s rent, we’ll arrange a date for you to move in.
You’ll need to get back to us as quickly as possible. If you delay replying to us or don’t send the documents we’ve requested in time, you might lose your offer.
You’ll also need to make sure you’re at your appointment to view the home with one of our housing officers, otherwise, we might withdraw the offer.
Yes, we offer support through our services at the Gateway in Coventry and our Whitecross Road scheme in Herefordshire.
You can find out more on our supported housing page.
If you're homeless or at risk of becoming homeless, you need to get in touch with your local council as quickly as possible.
The council will look into your situation to decide what help they might be able to give you.
Moving into your home
This will vary depending on where you live. Check your local council website to find out when your bins are collected.
We recommend using a comparison website like USwitch to find the best deals on your energy bills.
It’s important you let your energy suppliers you’ve moved in as soon as possible.
It’s easy to find out who they are.
Find out who your gas supplier is at findmysupplier.org
Find out who your electricity supplier is at energynetworks.org
No, you won’t get your post at your new address unless you have let people know or set up a mail redirect.
Yes, we recommend taking our contents insurance as this isn’t provided by us.
Our partner Thistle Insurance provides the My Home Contents Insurance Scheme, which is a contents insurance policy designed for tenants living in social housing and insures things in your home like furniture, carpets, curtains, clothes, bedding, electrical items, jewellery, pictures and ornaments.
To get started, you could ask your housing officer for more information. Alternatively, go to the My Home Contents Insurance website, or call them on 0345 450 7288.
My Home Contents Insurance on Thistle Homes
Managing my home
There are three main things you can do to prevent problems with damp in your home.
● stop moisture from building up
● improve the ventilation in your home
● keep your home warmer
Find out more on our Dealing with damp, mould and condensation page.
Yes, a dehumidifier can help reduce damp, mould and condensation in your home.
Sometimes, heating can cause damp in your home. This is usually when one room has been warmed up to a high temperature while the rest of the house is cold, so try to avoid this.
If your heating’s broken down or isn’t working properly, it’s important you let us know as soon as possible by ringing 0300 790 6555.
You’re welcome to decorate and paint your home, but for bigger changes and works, you’ll need to get in touch with us first via My Account.
Find out more about DIY plans you need to tell us about in advance on our website.
We regularly upgrade our kitchens and bathrooms, and run a planned maintenance programme based on the age and condition of our homes. If we’re going to work on your home, we’ll let you know in advance what we’re planning and when it’s likely to happen.
If we’re planning to work on your home, we’ll be in touch in advance to let you know what we’re planning, when it’ll happen and how long it will take. We’ll also give you the chance to ask any questions.
If you live with a disability or mobility issue, we may be able to make adjustments in your home that can make you more comfortable and help you move around more easily.
The kind of help we can offer depends on whether you need a minor adaptation or a major adaptation.
Find out more on our Installing aids and adaptations page.
Support
Yes, if you need some help or support, your neighbourhood officer can help. We also offer support through our tenancy sustainment service, who will arrange for a visit to your home to discuss what you need, and direct you to help from other organisations.
If you or someone you know is suffering domestic abuse, please don’t keep it to yourself. We’re here to help.
Find out more about what we can do to help on our safeguarding page.
If you’re concerned you or someone you know is experiencing abuse, or if something doesn’t feel right, we’re here to help.
We’re committed to protecting our customers’ mental health and wellbeing. If you suspect something isn’t right, or you’re concerned about someone, please let us know, as there are things we can do to help as part of our safeguarding policy.
If you need advice managing debt or support with budgeting, we’re here to help.
Remember, if you’re struggling to pay your rent, it’s really important you let us know as soon as possible so we can help.
You can also access free financial support through the Money Advice Service.
My tenancy
If you’re the only person named on your tenancy agreement, you have a sole tenancy, but if you want to add someone to your tenancy, you’ll need to change this to a joint tenancy by completing an application form.
We recommend seeking independent legal advice before making any changes to your tenancy.
Download our Sole to Joint Tenancy Application Form [DOC]
If your partner or spouse is no longer living at your address, you’ll need to change your joint tenancy to a sole tenancy. Both people will need to agree to this change, and you’ll need to let us know in writing that this is what you’d like to do.
As long as both parties agree, you’ve let us know in writing and there have been no major tenancy breaches and no rent arrears, we should be able to remove them from your tenancy.
We suggest that you seek independent legal advice.
Download our Joint to Sole Tenancy Application Form [DOC]
This is a 12-month tenancy for new Citizen customers and is an assured shorthold tenancy.
This means you can’t:
● make improvements to your home
● take in lodgers or sublet part of your home
● exchange your tenancy with someone else
● sign or pass on your tenancy to someone else
You’ll also get new tenancy visits. As long as your starter tenancy goes well, it will convert to a full assured tenancy at the end of the 12 months, or be extended for another six months.
New tenancy visits are for customers on 12-month tenancies.
You’ll be visited by one of our neighbourhood officers or retirement living officers, who’ll chat to you in your home. This will help us get to know you better and support you as you settle into your new home. Your visitor will have Citizen ID, and the visit only takes 30 minutes.
We’ll be in touch with you about when your visit is. You need to allow us to carry out this visit.
We aim to visit each of our tenants in their home every year to carry out a tenancy management check, which will help us get to know you better and check that your home is in good condition.
You can find out more on our tenancy management page
What are tenancy management checks?
We may be able to pass on a tenancy to someone else, but it can be quite complicated. This is a process known as succession, and you can find more information in your tenancy agreement.
Download a succession application form [DOC]
Contact us via My Account to find out more
If you’d like someone else to act on your behalf, like a family member, you’ll need to give them permission through an authority to act application.
This means the person you nominate will be able to discuss, exchange and disclose information on things concerning your tenancy, and access your details on My Account.
Download and complete an Authority to Act form.
No, subletting your home would be a breach of your tenancy agreement.
Yes, you can request a copy of your tenancy agreement via My Account.
If you want to make a complaint and think you should be compensated, the easiest way to log this is by using My Account. You can also contact us to make a complaint.
Some of our customers have been approached by claims management companies (CMCs) offering to help make disrepair claims against us, who may tell you that you can request compensation from us for problems in your home.
CMCs often don’t give you the full picture and can put you at serious financial risk.
Yes, we recommend taking our contents insurance as this isn’t provided by us.
Our partner Thistle Insurance provides the My Home Contents Insurance Scheme, which is a contents insurance policy designed for tenants living in social housing and insures things in your home like furniture, carpets, curtains, clothes, bedding, electrical items, jewellery, pictures and ornaments.
To get started, you could ask your housing officer for more information. Alternatively, go to the My Home Contents Insurance website, or call them on 0345 450 7288.
My Account
My Account is our dedicated, secure customer portal where you can manage your tenancy with Citizen and get in touch with us.
You can use My Account to:
● pay your rent
● book a repair
● check your balance and get statements
● update your personal details
● log a complaint
● check, cancel reschedule any upcoming appointment
● report antisocial behaviour
● send us messages and documents
To update your email address on My Account, you’ll need to log in with the email you used to register, then change it in My Details.
Please let us know about emergency repairs by calling us, as we need to take action as soon as possible.
From Monday to Friday, 8am to 4pm, you can contact us on 0300 790 6555. Outside of these hours, please call 0300 790 6555.
You will need your rent account reference, name, and date of birth. Your email address needs to be stored in our records.
Find out more on our Managing your account online page.
Yes, you can check your rent account and transactions anytime on My Account.
Yes, you can register online. Find out more on our Managing your account online page.
Yes, most repairs can be cancelled or changed up to 24 hours before. However, some repairs, such as gas inspections and services, can’t be cancelled because it's crucial that we do this work.
If you’ve forgotten your credentials, you don’t need to worry. You can reset these by following the instructions on your My Account page.
Money, benefits and debt
Universal Credit is a benefit payment that helps you with your living costs and rent. It’s paid into your account at regular intervals. To qualify for it, you need to meet certain criteria.
It replaces the following benefits:
Housing Benefit
Child Tax Credit
Income Support
Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
Income-based Employment and Support Allowance
Working Tax Credit
Depending on your circumstances, you might be entitled to some benefits to help you pay your rent and other living costs. It’s important to make sure you get all of the help that’s available to you. You can find out what benefits you could be entitled to on our Universal Credit and benefits FAQ page.
If you have a spare bedroom and you’re renting one of our homes, then your Housing Benefit, or the housing costs element of Universal Credit might be reduced.
This is often referred to as the bedroom tax, the under-occupation penalty or the removal of the spare room subsidy.
The benefit cap is a limit on the total amount of benefits you can get. It can mean the amount you receive might go down, to make sure you don’t go over the cap limit.
If you’re struggling to stay in control of your finances, we’re here to help. We can provide you with free debt advice and direct you to other organisations who can give you more specialised support.
Our team of friendly money advisors will be happy to talk you through your options and offer you guidance on what you should do.
It’s really important you pay your rent on time. If you don’t, there could be serious consequences, and you could even lose your home.
If you’re struggling to pay your rent, you must let us know as soon as possible so we can help.
Call us on 0300 790 6530, and one of our friendly team members will talk to you about your options.
Service charges
Every Citizen customer needs to pay a service charge, which helps cover the cost of services that keep homes, gardens and grounds safe and in good condition.
Your service charge covers the day-to-day running costs of services at your building or estate, like cleaning communal areas, maintaining the lawn in shared gardens, running CCTV and testing fire alarms.
Find out more on our Service charge page.
If your service charge changes, you need to let the right authority know so they can reassess your claim.
● If you receive Universal Credit and your service charge changes, you need to send a copy of your rent review letter to the Department for Work and Pensions (within your monthly assessment period).
● If you receive Housing Benefit, you’ll need to send the letter to the Housing Benefit team.
Even though you already pay for bills to cover the cost of energy use in your home, you must also pay the energy bill costs in your service charge. This is to ensure we can run things like lights inside your block, external lighting for pathways and car parks, and heat communal areas.
Your council tax pays for the cost of collecting your household waste.
However, they don’t collect rubbish in the communal areas of your neighbourhood, like litter, white goods or abandoned vehicles. We’re responsible for keeping those areas clear and maintained, so if we can’t work out who left rubbish in those areas, we split the cost evenly between the customers living in that neighbourhood as part of their service charge.
Find out more on our Service charges page.
If you don’t have a garden but you're paying for gardening costs, this will mean the maintenance of the outdoor spaces where you live, like mowing grass and looking after trees, shrubs and paved areas.
The cost of maintaining these areas is split evenly between the customers living in that neighbourhood as part of their service charge.
Find out more on our Service charge page.
Surpluses and deficits affect our customers on a variable service charge, as opposed to a fixed service charge.
If you’re on a variable service charge, you’ll make a payment based on our estimate of costs for the year.
● If the amount you paid is more than the actual cost of the services provided, this is a surplus, and you will be refunded the difference.
● If the amount you paid is less than the actual cost of services provided, you have to pay the deficit.
Safety information
All our properties are fitted with smoke detectors and fire alarms, and we carry out annual gas, oil and fuel appliance servicing alongside regular electrical inspections.
If you live in a shared building, we’ll also regularly do Fire Risk Assessments (FRAs) to check that all smoke detectors, fire alarms, fire doors and other fire safety measures are in good working order.
We also regularly review any fire risks and our procedures for preventing and reporting fires.
There are a few simple steps you can take to protect your home from the risk of fire, including:
● don’t store flammable items on balconies
● keep fire exits, corridors and communal areas clear of your belongings
● always keep fire doors closed
All of our blocks of flats and other larger, shared buildings have a fire safety policy which includes an evacuation plan. It's really important that you make yourself aware of the policy and evacuation plan for your building so that in an emergency, you can keep yourself safe.
To keep you safe, we conduct regular safety checks on gas and electrical appliances in your home. It’s a legal requirement that you allow us to check the safety of gas and electrical appliances in your home.
If you repeatedly fail to give us access to your home, we’ll seek a court order to gain access and will claim back the cost of this from you.
Leaseholders, shared owners and buying your home
Yes, there are four schemes that can help you buy your home from us, so you’ll need to qualify for one of them.
● Preserved Right to Buy
● Right to Buy
● Right to Acquire
● Right to Shared Ownership
Find out more on our buying your home page.
If you’re a leaseholder, you own your home on a lease with us, and have different responsibilities than a tenant who’s renting their home. As a leaseholder, you have the right to:
● live in your home for the duration of the lease
● the quiet enjoyment of your home
● have the structure of your building and communal areas maintained by us (if you live in a flat)
If you’re a leaseholder, your building will be covered by the building’s insurance. You can see what your coverage includes in this summary of our buildings insurance policy.
To sell your home, first you’ll need to let us know through My Account.
You’ll need to pay for a valuation from an independent RICS valuer, and give us an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) so that we can start the marketing of your home. You’ll also need to cover the cost of any other fees.
Your home can’t be sold above the RICS valuation price.
Yes, you can buy more shares in your home. You’ll need to pay for a valuation from the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) to value your home. Once they’ve done their report, we’ll let you know how much the extra shares will cost.
Your rent will go down once you’ve bought these shares.
No, subletting your home would be a breach of your tenancy agreement.
No, we’ll cover your buildings insurance until you own the property outright.
Download a copy of your building insurance cover
Antisocial behaviour
You can let us know about antisocial behaviour in your neighbourhood, and we’ll take appropriate action. However, for more serious behaviours, like arson, we’ll recommend you contact the police first.
In an emergency or if you witness someone committing a crime, always dial 999.
Find out more on our antisocial behaviour page.
We can help you with things going on in your neighbourhood that we class as antisocial behaviour. We’ll take your report seriously and let you know what we think we can do. If we can take action, we’ll agree on a plan with you in advance and let you know what steps you should take to help resolve things.
We’ll also keep you posted about any developments and ask you to keep in touch with us about how the matter is progressing.
We’ll always treat your report with the strictest confidence.
If you're experiencing persistent noise nuisance from a neighbour, there are some steps you must follow before we can consider taking action on your behalf, like speaking to your neighbour and keeping a noise diary.
Find out more on our antisocial behaviour page.
It can include:
● noise nuisance
● harassment
● hate crimes
● fly-tipping or dumping rubbish in shared areas or within your community
● drugs and alcohol-related behaviours
Find out more on our antisocial behaviour page.
Your privacy
We take keeping your data safe very seriously. Our expert team and a mature information security management system so that your data will be treated appropriately and won’t end up in the wrong hands.
Our privacy notices set out what information we collect, why we collect it, who we share it with and how we safeguard it. This varies slightly depending on the service we are providing.
You have a number of rights when it comes to your information.
The right to be informed about the collection and use of your personal data, which is detailed in our privacy notice, including why we’re processing your personal data, how long we’ll keep it for, and who it’ll be shared with.
The right to access your personal data and supplementary information to verify it’s been processed lawfully, which you can do by making a subject access request.
The right to rectification of inaccurate or incomplete personal data – we can refuse this request in certain circumstances.
The right to erasure means you can request that your personal data be erased, but this only applies in certain circumstances.
The right to restrict processing means you can request the suppression of your personal data, but again, this only applies in personal situations, and means we may still store your personal data – this can impact the services we’re able to supply you with.
The right to data portability allows you to download, move, copy, transfer and reuse your personal data for your purposes across different services.
The right to object means you can object to:
● processing based on legitimate interests or the performance of a task in the public interest/exercise of official authority (including profiling)
● direct marketing (including profiling)
● processing for purposes of scientific/ historical research and statistics
Everyone has the right to access their personal data and supplementary information, so you can verify that it’s been processed lawfully.
Request a copy of your personal data through our Subject Access Request form
If you think the personal data we hold is inaccurate or incomplete, or you want to exercise any of the above rights, you’ll need to let us know in writing or verbally. We’ll respond within a month of receiving your request.
We’ll store your information for as long as we need to. You can find out more in our Data Retention Schedule.
Sometimes, we’ll share your information with suppliers. The kind of information we share depends on what kind of service they’re providing. We’ll always keep your data safe and secure.
We share data with:
- Auditors
- Builders Merchants
- Carers
- Central Government Departments
- Charitable organisations
- Consultants
- Conveyancers
- Estate Agents
- Family members
- Financial Institutions
- Household members
- Housing Associations
- Housing Maintenance Contractors
- Housing Management Agents
- Housing Support Providers
- Insurance Companies
- Local authorities
- Management Companies
- Next of Kin
- NHS
- Police and other emergency services
- Security Services
- Service companies
- Software companies
- Solicitors and legal advisors
- Surveyors
- Recruitment Agencies
- Regulators
- Removal companies
- Training Service Providers
- Utility companies
- Voluntary organisations
Help and advice
Get help with understanding your bills, learn important safety information and report antisocial behaviour.
How to set up a budget
If you’re on a low income, you might be able to get a discount or help to pay your council tax bill. Find out more now.