Douglas City Council’s public-sector housing tenants will be offered a more flexible way to pay their rent from April.

Designed to assist families with their budget management across a full year, the local authority is to adopt a more straightforward approach to standardise the rent collection process.

Chair of the council’s housing and property committee, councillor Devon Watson, explained: ‘Tenants currently pay rent covering the full 52 weeks of the year but, historically, that rent has been collected across a 50-week period and divided accordingly, dating back to a time when most payments were collected in cash and paid in person.

‘More than 60% of our tenants already pay over the 52 weeks so this is about standardising and giving tenants control over their preferred payment approach.

‘Nowadays, of course, there are a wide range of payment options, including the very popular direct debit, online payments, phone payments, standing orders and the Isle of Man Government’s social security direct pay, so there is no longer any need to divide a year into a 50-week collection system.

‘All existing payment interval choices for tenants (whether weekly, fortnightly, four-weekly or monthly) will remain the same, there will be no change. The yearly rent amount will also be the same and payments will simply be calculated over 52 weeks rather than 50.’

The move will bring the council in line with the majority of the island’s other local authorities who provide public sector housing, simplifying payment processes and offering the option for tenants who wish to take a rent break during a particular period of the year the opportunity to increase their rent payments to cover this break.

For example, a tenant may choose to take a one-week rent break in the summer and one-week rent break during the festive period and, as long as they have increased their weekly payment and therefore have sufficient credit, this will be possible.

Those tenants who do not want to take a rent break will pay the actual weekly rent rather than the previously inflated rent that was required to cover the traditional non-collection weeks at the end of the year, assisting greatly with their budget management.

A detailed explanation of the change and potential benefits of the new approach, complete with available payment options, will be outlined in a letter to all tenants next month and in the Council’s annual Housing Newsletter.

An online ‘Public Sector Housing Tenant Portal’ will also be introduced in late 2025 making it very easy for tenants to view their housing rent account balance, which will help with payment planning.

Councillor Watson added: ‘This is all about providing a more straightforward yet flexible way to pay and collect rent, with the main purpose to better assist families with their budget management across a full year, alongside the benefit of offering a ‘rent holiday’ for those who want it.

‘Essentially, it places control back in the hands of our tenants.’

The new measures will come into effect in the new financial year and will be implemented from the week beginning April 7.