Contact a housing officer

Find out about Balance enquiries, Arrears, Help to pay, Rent Statements,  Direct Debits, Refunds and Chargeable repairs

I want to check my rent balance

Council tenants can now check their rent balance through their online Council Housing Account.

Check my rent balance

Discuss rent arrears

Please contact your rent officer using the form below if you have:

• Rent arrears you are struggling to repay
• Received a court hearing letter
• Received an eviction date letter

Discuss a payment plan, court hearing or eviction date letter 

I need help to pay my rent

Support is available through Housing Benefits and Universal Credit. To find out if you are entitled to more benefits, use the Benefits Calculator to find out your entitlements.

Check your benefit entitlement

If you have a question about your housing benefits, submit an enquiry using the link below.

Submit a Housing Benefit enquiry

Request a rent statement

Council tenants can now view their rent balance and previous payments through their online Council Housing Account. If you need to request a rent statement, you can do this through the account under the 'My Rent' tab.

View my Council Housing Account

Set up or change a Direct Debit

To set up or change a Direct Debit you will need to:

• complete the Direct Debit Form 
• send the form to: Harrow Council, Housing Services, PO Box 1367, Harrow, HA3 3QT

We arrange for your bank to pay the rent every month on the 4th, 18th or 25th of each month. If you would like to change your payment date or bank details, please submit a new form.

There is an issue with an existing Direct Debit

Missed payments: If your Direct Debit payment does not go through, you will need to make the missed instalment by card or bank transfer. Your Direct Debit will then continue the following month. For details, see Pay your housing rent.

A change to the amount I need to pay: Your Direct Debit instalments are set up in March each year on the assumption that the amount you pay will not change. If there is a change that affects the amount you pay, for example a change to your Housing Benefit, then you may need to ask for your Direct Debit to be adjusted. You can do this by submitting a rent enquiry.

Amend a Direct Debit

I want a refund for my rent

If your rent account is in credit, you can use the credit towards future rent payments.

If the credit is worth more than 4 weeks of rent, you can request a refund.

If you want to claim a refund, please contact us using the form below. Select the option 'Query my rent balance or statement'

Request a rent refund

I've been charged for a repair

There are some circumstances in which you will be responsible for paying for a repair. For full details see Rechargeable Repairs.

If you have a question about why you are being charged, or about repayment, please contact us using the link below.

Find out about getting a Copy of your agreement, Tenancy type, Visits,  Audits, changing to a Sole tenancy or Joint tenancy.

I need a copy of my tenancy agreement

We can send a copy to you by post or email.

Request a copy of my tenancy agreement

What is my tenancy type?

You can find your tenancy type on your tenancy agreement.

• Secure tenancy: A lifetime tenancy that continues until you give us 4 weeks’ written notice or we get a court order to end your tenancy.
• Introductory tenancy: This means that you are on “probation" for 12 months.  As long as you keep to the tenancy conditions, your tenancy will automatically change to a secure tenancy after 12 months.  If you do not keep to the terms of your tenancy, we can apply to court for possession of your home and the court must agree to this.
• Non-secure tenancy: You have been provided with temporary accommodation within a property owned by the London Borough of Harrow

I have missed a Housing Officer visit

If you have missed a Housing Officer's visit, they will have left a calling card with their details. You can re-arrange the visit by calling the number on the card, or if you prefer you can contact us using the form below.

Re-arrange a housing officer visit

I have a question about a tenancy audit

Your housing officer will visit you at your home from time-to-time throughout your tenancy. This is to make sure everything is alright. We will visit you within six weeks of the start of your tenancy and at other times during your tenancy. We call these visits tenancy audits. View the guide on what to expect during a tenancy audit.

I want to change to a sole tenancy

This is a complicated matter and you should seek independent legal advice on how to end a joint tenancy.

If you are in the process of getting a divorce, you should discuss this with the solicitor as part of the divorce proceedings. The best way to end a joint tenancy is with a court order known as a property adjustment order.

A joint tenancy remains a valid agreement as long as one of the joint tenants is living in the property.  

I want to change to a joint tenancy

You can ask to add someone else to your tenancy if:

• you are married or in a civil partnership and your partner lives with you
• your unmarried partner has lived with you for at least 12 months

We will not create a joint tenancy between residents of different generations, such as a parent and child.

Your rent account must be clear or in credit. We will carry out identity and residency checks. Creating a joint tenancy is always at the discretion of Resident Services.

Find out about issues with  Anti-social behaviour, Maintenance and environment, Pests, Abandoned homes, Estate Streets, Cleaning, Trees, Grass/weeds/shrubs

Anti-social behaviour

All reports of anti-social behaviour (ASB) are dealt with in confidence. When appropriate we discuss the complaint with the person whom it is about, but only if you agree to this.

If you want the council to take further action against someone, we'll need proof of their wrong-doing.

To report Anti-social behaviour online you will need:

• Details of the incident(s) including days and times
• Information about the people involved
• Any witness information

Report anti-social behaviour

Estate maintenance and environment

Some issues have their own dedicated reporting forms. Please ensure you report the issue using the correct form.

To report these issues please use the following links:

• Report Fly Tipping
• Report Graffiti
• Report Abandoned cars
• Report Grass, Shrubs and Weeds

If the issue is not listed above, please report it using the link below.

Report an issue in a communal area

Pest Control

If there is a pest problem in a council house it is the tenant's responsibility to resolve it.

If there is a pest problem in a flat or communal area please report this using the form below.

Report a pest control issue

Abandoned homes

If you think that a home on your estate has been abandoned, please contact us using the form below.

You will need to provide details of why you think the property has been abandoned.

Report an abandoned property

Street issues

Most of our streets are managed by the council's Highways team. Please report any issues using the forms on the Streets section of our website. The Highways team will then liaise with Housing Officers if they need to.

Report a Street Issue

Cleaning issues

To report a cleaning issue in a communal area use the form below.

Report a cleaning issue

A tree is causing issues

You are responsible for looking after your garden, including pruning all shrubs and trees.

However, if a tree is causing structural problem, blocking gutters or other health and safety issues, it should be reported. You can help by sending any photos, exact details of the location of the tree(s), the problem it is causing and any other useful information to infrastructure@harrow.gov.uk

Grass, weeds, shrubs and hedges

The Grounds Maintenance team deliver a service that includes grass cutting, pruning of; shrub beds, rose beds, herbaceous borders, application of weed killer, monthly sweeping of garage areas, leaf clearance, replanting shrub beds and litter clearance.

For further details see Council Estates Grounds Maintenance

Find out how to Report a change, Report that a tenant has died, End your tenancy, Update contact details, Pet ownership, and changing to a Sole or Joint tenancy

Report a change to the household

You can use the form below to report the following changes and upload any supporting documents:

• people moving in or out
• the birth of a child
• a name change

Report a change in circumstances

Report a tenant has died

You can report the death of a tenant or occupant using the form below.

The form will give you an option to upload the death certificate if you have it.

Report the death of a tenant or occupant

I would like to end my tenancy

If you want to end your council tenancy, we will:

• require four weeks’ written notice that you want to end your tenancy
• charge you rent until the end of the notice period and the keys are returned
• require the property to be returned clean and empty of people and belongings
• serve a formal notice to end the tenancy if there is no one else who can do so

You can send your request using the form below. We will aim to respond within 5 working days.

Request to end my tenancy

Update my contact details

To update your phone number or email address, please provide your updated details using the form below.

Update my contact details

Pet ownership

We allow tenants to keep pets at their home as long as they are cared for and looked after in a responsible way. For further details follow the link below.

Report I am keeping a pet

I want to change to a sole tenancy

This is a complicated matter and you should seek independent legal advice on how to end a joint tenancy.

If you are in the process of getting a divorce, you should discuss this with the solicitor as part of the divorce proceedings. The best way to end a joint tenancy is with a court order known as a property adjustment order.

A joint tenancy remains a valid agreement as long as one of the joint tenants is living in the property.  

I want to change to a joint tenancy

You can ask to add someone else to your tenancy if:

• you are married or in a civil partnership and your partner lives with you
• your unmarried partner has lived with you for at least 12 months

We will not create a joint tenancy between residents of different generations, such as a parent and child.

Your rent account must be clear or in credit. We will carry out identity and residency checks. Creating a joint tenancy is always at the discretion of Resident Services.

Find out about Emergency repairs, Reporting repairs, Communal issues and Following up repairs

Emergency repairs 

An emergency repair is anything which can cause an immediate danger to your health, safety, security, or something that may lead to serious damage to the property.

Emergency repairs should not be reported online and instead you should call 020 8901 2630. 

• View a list of all emergency and urgent repairs.

Report a home repair

To complete a home repair report you will need to:

• confirm the repair type (electrical, plumbing)
• confirm what needs fixing
• upload any photos (optional)
• confirm your contact details and availability

When you start the form you will be asked to sign in to your MyHarrow Account. If you do not have an account select 'Complete a form without logging in'.

Report a home repair

Report an issue in a communal area

Some issues have their own dedicated reporting forms. Please ensure you report the issue using the correct form.

To report these issues please use the following links:

• Report Fly Tipping
• Report Graffiti
• Report Abandoned cars
• Report Grass, Shrubs and Weeds
• Report Pest Control

For all other issues use the button below.

Report an issue in a communal area

Follow up a repair request

To follow up your repair you will need to contact your contractor that was assigned to your repair.

Contractor contact information will be in your email confirmation you received when your repair was scheduled. You will need to quote your reference number when you contact your allocated contractor.

If there are any issues relating to a housing repair that you want to inform the housing team of, please use the enquiry form below.

Disability adaptations alterations

If you need to make alterations to your home due to a disability, see Home adaptation grants and services.

Install a Smart Meter or Water Meter

You need permission from Housing Services before a utility company will install a meter.  This can be done using the alteration permission form. In most circumstances, we will give permission for this, but the installation is carried out by the utility company and not all properties are suitable for a meter.

To request permission, complete the form below. You will need to provide:

• the location of the meter(s)
• photo of your current meter(s)

Request permission for a new meter

Install an Electric Vehicle Charging Point

You need permission from Housing Services before installing a charge point.  This can be done using the alteration permission form.  In most circumstances, we will give permission for this, but the installation is carried out by a qualified electrician, and you must provide a valid electric certificate after the installation has taken place.  Cables from a charge point must not cause a hazard such as crossing a pavement.

To request permission, complete the form below. You will need to provide:

• the location of the charging point, such as Front Garden
• a plan or sketch of the proposed charging point

Request permission for an Electric Vehicle Charging Point

Request to make alterations to my home

If you want to carry out alterations or improvements to your home you must get written permission first. It is not needed for redecoration. For further details see Home alterations for council tenants or submit a request below.

Replacement fobs

We are currently upgrading our fob entry systems. Existing fobs will continue to work until the upgrade is complete. New fobs will be provided after the upgrade. We will be writing to all affected residents to let them know when the upgrades will take place.

If we are unable to provide replacement fobs for any reason please contact plannedinvestmentenquiry@harrow.gov.uk

Residents of Sharpe House and Fielding House are not affected and can purchase replacement fobs direct from ROLEC

Lost, stolen and additional communal keys

If you need a new or extra communal key/fob, you will need to pay £25. Here's how:

1. Fill out the "Order a Replacement Communal Key" form below
2. Pay the £25 fee by calling 020 8424 1222. Choose option 4 for Housing Rent, enter reference 539185 and your door number.

Note:

• Each household is allowed up to 3 fobs.
• If you need more than 3 fobs, you'll need to explain why on the form. We will consider each case individually.

Find out about Mutual exchange, Ending a tenancy, Right to buy, Domestic violence, moving to a Smaller home or Another area, Low-cost ownership, and Applying to move.

Mutual Exchange

A mutual exchange involves two or more social housing tenants swapping homes with each other.

For further details see Mutual Exchange

Finding a smaller home

If you are interested in moving to a smaller home, see Downsizing your property.

Right to buy

You may be eligible to purchase your property under the Right To Buy (RTB) scheme if:

• the property is your only or principal home
• you hold a secure tenancy with us
• you have been a tenant for three years

To find our more see Right to Buy

I want  to end my tenancy

If you want to end your council tenancy, we will:

• require four weeks’ written notice that you want to end your tenancy
• charge you rent until the end of the notice period and the keys are returned
• require the property to be returned clean and empty of people and belongings
• serve a formal notice to end the tenancy if there is no one else who can do so

To discuss ending your tenancy, please contact us using the form below. We will aim to respond within 5 working days.

I want to end my tenancy

Domestic violence

If a crime has been committed or you have immediate concerns about the safety of any adults at risk please call the Police on:

• 999 for an emergency response
• 101 for non-emergency responses

If you are experiencing domestic violence and need to move home, see Options for victims of domestic violence.

Moving to another area

We can support you to move to another area if you are a housing association or council tenant.

For details see Transfer to another area.

Low cost home ownership

The council promotes a range of affordable home ownership products for people who cannot afford to purchase a property on the open market.

For details see Affordable homes and shared ownership.

Apply for a new home

You should register your interest in a new home with Locata using the link below.

Repairs

If there is an issue with a repair you will need to contact your contractor that was assigned to your repair.

Contractor contact information will be in your email confirmation you received when your repair was scheduled. You can also find details on your online Council Housing Account under 'My Repairs'.

Complaints

To submit a formal complaint about a repair with the council, or to complain about any other service provided by the Housing Department, please use the form below.