We reserve the right to reject any application and our decision as to whether an applicant is eligible for a loan shall be final and conclusive. We also reserve the right to share details of your application with local authorities or other relevant agencies in accordance with the terms of our data policy.
Applications must be completed and submitted by the tenant named in the tenancy agreement.
Both private rented sector and social rented sector tenants can apply.
You can still apply even if you are eligible for other forms of support.
You can apply for up to a total of 9 months of rent costs. This can include,
rent arrears, which have arisen since 01 January 2020 (if you had rent arrears prior to this date you are not eligible to apply for this loan) and/or
a maximum of 3 months of future rent payments you do not expect to be able to pay.
If part of your rent in paid through Universal Credit (housing payment element) or other housing support (such as a Discretionary Housing Payment from your local authority), the loan offered to you will be for the difference between the rent due and the amount paid through the other support you receive to help with your housing costs. For example, if your monthly rent is £500 and £100 of this is paid via the housing element of Universal Credit, you will be eligible to apply for the ramming £400.
Only 1 loan will be available per tenancy agreement, except for instances where there is a single tenancy agreement for a property with multiple individual occupants, such as a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) let.
You can only apply for a loan on 1 occasion and will not be permitted to make multiple applications.
The maximum loan value you can apply for will be the total of 9 months of rent, in accordance with value of rent specified in your tenancy agreement.
You will need to pass a credit check.
We will assess your affordability to ensure that you will be able to meet the repayments.
Repayments will start 6 months after the loan is paid. For example, if the loan is paid in December 2020 the first repayment will be due and payable by you in June 2021.
Your repayments will be taken monthly over a period of 5 years as standard. You can repay the loan earlier if you want to.
Successful applicants’ will be given the option to have the loan paid directly to their landlord. If you do not wish to have loan paid directly to your landlord, you will be required to use the loan to pay your rent costs to your landlord within a stated timescale and provide confirmation to us that you have done so.
We will contact your landlord to verify details relating to your tenancy, including, but not limited to, the rent costs and any arrears of rent.
You must tell us as soon as possible if any of the details relating to your tenancy you have provided changes, or there is a change to anything else which could affect your eligibility to receive a loan, or to repay the loan. Depending on the nature of the change, your loan offer may be withdrawn or amended, or other appropriate action may be taken.
We may ask you for further information to determine your eligibility for this loan scheme and you must provide this information within the specified timeframe if you wish to continue with your application.
Once you have started making repayments of the loan if you encounter any difficulties in repaying the loan balance this can be discussed directly with us via email TenantHardshipLoan@est.org.uk or call 0808 196 3660
