Tenants can pay their rent in one of the following ways:

• through National Giro at the post office
• at designated branches of Barclays Bank or through your own bank or building society
• standing order through either post office National Giro, your bank or building society

For further information read the leaflet enclosed with your rent book or talk to your Sheltered Housing Officer.
If you wish to make enquiries on your own without involving the Sheltered Housing Officer and your only income is your state pension, you should contact the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to enquire if you are entitled to income support. If you have other sources of income and savings you should first contact:

The Benefits Section,
Finance Department
Wandsworth Town Hall
London SW18 2PU
Telephone: (020) 8871 8080

(Ask for housing benefits and give your address.)
The rules on income support and welfare rights change frequently, so if the Sheltered Housing Officer is unable to help you, you should contact the local Citizens Advice Bureau for advice.

 Support charge

The support charge funds the costs of providing a dedicated sheltered housing officer as well as other services that are not covered by the basic rent.
If you are entitled to housing benefits, you will be exempt from this charge. If you do not qualify for housing benefits, you are entitled to apply for a financial 'Fairer Charging Assessment' by social services. This may mean you only have to pay a proportion of the support charge.

For future information, please speak to your sheltered housing officer or telephone social services (020) 8871 7066/6218.