How the 53-week rent year may impact you

If you pay your rent every month this will affect you as your new monthly calculation will be your weekly rent times 53 weeks and divided by 12 months. 

To avoid falling into arrears, please pay a little extra each week to make sure your rent is covered. If you pay by Direct Debit we can do this automatically for you. If you would like support with budgeting or other money advice, speak to your Neighbourhood Services Manager. 

If you receive Universal Credit you should be aware that this is currently calculated on a 52 week basis. To avoid falling into arrears please pay a little extra each week to ensure your rent is covered.  If you pay by Direct Debit we can do this automatically for you. If you would like support with budgeting or other money advice, please speak to your Neighbourhood Services Manager. 

This is because when the Department for Work and Pensions works out your monthly rent, it multiplies a week’s rent by 52 weeks of the year times by 7 days a week which works out at 364 days. It then divides this by 12 months to give you a monthly payment. 

This would be fine if there were exactly 52 weeks rent in a year – but there aren’t. There’s always an extra day in the year, or two in a leap year, which is the case in 2024. 

If you don’t pay that extra day yourself, this then can ‘catch up’ with you once every five or six years – whenever there are 53 Mondays – 2024/2025 is one of those rent years. You can avoid falling into arrears by paying a little extra each week to make sure your rent is covered. 

If you pay by Direct Debit you don’t need to do anything. We’ll do this calculation for you and automatically adjust your payments by multiplying by 53 weeks and dividing by 12 months. 

If you pay your rent monthly direct to us, then you will need to adjust your payments to cover this additional rent week, also taking into account any rent repayment agreement made with us to cover any arrears. 

Because you pay your rent monthly by Direct Debit, your payments will be automatically changed to cover this additional rent week, so you don’t need to do anything. 

If you pay by standing order then you need to make an adjustment to your monthly payments yourself. To calculate how much rent you should be paying each month, multiply your weekly rent amount by 53 and then divide it by 12. 

For example, if your rent was £100 per week you would use the following calculation: 

£100 x 53 ÷ 12 = £441.67 per month 

Once you’ve calculated your monthly payments, contact your bank to update your standing order.  

Most people pay by Direct Debit – it’s easier and hassle free. Get in touch with us if you want to set one up. Over 14,000 people like you already pay by Direct Debit. 

If you pay by card each month you’ll also need to make an adjustment to your monthly payments. Calculate your new monthly rent payment by multiplying it by 53 and divide by 12. You can also pay an extra week on your next payment if you’re able to do so. 

There are non-charging weeks (non-debit weeks for some of our properties). Your non-charging weeks will still apply, but this year you will have one more weekly rent charge than normal. For example, if you have two non-charging weeks and as such you’re normally charged rent 50 times each year, this year you will have 51 rent-charging weeks.

We have sent a booklet to you detailing your new rent and service charges from 1 April 2024. You can also log onto the customer portal MyPlace on our website. 

There is no change. You will pay your new weekly rent from 1 April 2024 in advance every Monday. 

You don’t need to do anything, as this will be covered.

If you’re concerned about paying your rent or want to discuss a payment plan, speak to your Neighbourhood Services Manager.

You can also access a whole range of advice covering things like Universal Credit, support available in your area and information on employment and training opportunities at

www.greatplaces.org.uk/supportingyou