Mortgage and rent arrears

Mortgage and rent payments are priority debts and should always be paid first. If you are finding difficulties in paying your mortgage or keeping up with your rent payments the key is to start talking: talk to your lender, talk to your partner, and talk to a free, independent debt adviser. The earlier you tell your lender, the more options there will be to solve the problem.

There are many organisations which offer free and independent advice and some of these are listed below..

Housing benefit and council tax benefit

The housing benefit scheme is there to help people with low incomes pay their rent. The council tax benefit system provides help with paying council tax. Both are means tested.

The district councils provide advice on housing and council tax benefit. Contact your district council for more information.

• Craven District Council
  Tel: 01756 700600
• Hambleton District Council
  Tel: 0845 1211 555
• Harrogate Borough Council
  Tel: 01423 500600
• Richmondshire District Council
  Tel: 01748 829100
• Ryedale District Council
  Tel: 01653 600666
• Scarborough Borough Council
  Tel: 01723 232323
• Selby District Council
  Tel: 01757 705101

Citizens advice bureaux

North Yorkshire citizens advice bureaux work with other agencies and housing providers to help families access affordable housing or to keep their homes and alleviate homelessness.

National citizens advice websites

There are national websites for the citizens advice bureau which contain a large amount of information and may help you to find the information you need quickly and easily. You can access them by visiting www.citizensadvice.org.uk to find out more about the service, or www.adviceguide.org.uk for access to a wealth of online help information.

Key House (independent advice on housing, debt and benefits)

Provides specialist advice and support at court for people facing repossession. Housing advisers are on hand at the York and Scarborough county courts to advise and represent people facing the loss of their homes.

Contact the duty scheme by telephoning 01845 574 010 (for York and North Yorkshire) or 01723 350 755 (for Scarborough).

Keyhouse also provides independent, over-the-telephone advice on a wide range of other housing matters including:

• Rent arrears
• Homelessness
• Problems with landlords
• Repair problems
• Facing court action
• Housing Benefit problems
• Debt and Welfare Benefits advice

The helpline is open 10am-1pm on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Telephone 01845 521458.

North Yorkshire district councils' homelessness service

The district councils provide an advice service and can assist you if you become or are in imminent danger of becoming homeless.

There are other organisations that may be able to offer advice. Some of these are below.

Shelter

Shelter is the housing and homelessness charity. You can contact them by telephone on 0808 8004444 or by visiting their website at www.shelter.org.uk.

National debtline

The national debtline is the helpline that provides free, confidential and independent advice on how to deal with debt problems.
You can contact them by telephone on 0808 808 4000 or by visiting their website at  www.nationaldebtline.co.uk.

Cost effective ways to save energy in the home and help with fuel bills

The energy saving trust advice centre

The energy saving trust advice centre provides free, impartial, locally relevant advice for householders on home insulation, heating and heating controls, and the different types of grants and discounts available. You can contact them by telephone on 0800 512012 or by visiting their website at www.energysavingtrust.org.uk.

Home heat helpline

The home heat helpline is an independent free telephone service that offers help and advice to those struggling to pay their energy bills. You can contact them by telephone on 0800 336699.

Changes to welfare benefits

From October 2013 benefit claimants will receive a single benefit payment for all benefits including Housing Benefit. Yorkshire Coast Homes have produced an informational video regarding these changes.