Support and assistance

You can contact us if you need to talk to us about your business rates, including billing, responding to our request for information, and more.

There are separate forms if you’d like to apply for business rates relief.

Before you contact us, make sure you have your:

• business rates reference number (find it at the top of your most recent bill), unless you’re a new ratepayer
• valuation reference number (find it by searching for your business’s postcode on the Scottish Assessors’ Association website).

Contact us about business rates

If your electricity cuts out, there are things you can do to find out what caused it where the problem is. 

We also do an electrical safety check in your home every five years.

If your electricity cuts out, you can check what may have caused the power failure.

However, it is not safe to investigate a power supply, switch, socket, or appliance that is not working.

If your building or street has no electricity

If you have a power cut in your home, check if your neighbours are affected as well. 

Check also if the lights or power are working on the stairs or communal areas of your building.

If the power outage affects other people in your building or street, freephone Scottish Power Energy Networks on 105 to report the issue. 

If your home has no electricity

If it's just your property that has no electricity, it's likely the issue is inside your home. 

First, check the main trip switch in your fuse box. The main trip switch controls the power supply in your own house or flat. Your fuse box is usually located next to your electric meter.

If the main trip switch is down, move it back up to turn the power back on. 

If it trips again and the power goes off, contact us and tell us you have no electricity at all. An electrician will come and investigate the problem.

If it's a faulty socket or appliance

The electrical power failure could be caused by a faulty appliance or socket in your home. 

This can happen when:

• there are too many appliances on a circuit, and it's overloaded
• an appliance is faulty
• water has leaked into a circuit or has spilled onto a plug
• there is faulty or damaged wiring in a socket
• a light bulb has blown.

First, check all the trip switches in your fuse box.

The trip switch supplying the faulty appliance or socket can switch off to break the electrical circuit.

If any of them are down, push them to the up position. You may also need turn the main switch off, then on again, to reset the system.

If it trips again and the power goes off, see if you can identify an appliance causing the fault.

Disconnect or unplug the appliances powered by that trip switch and then turn the trip switch back on again.

If this restores the electricity, there may be a problem with one of your appliances. If other appliances work in the same socket, get the appliance checked by a qualified electrician.

If no appliance works in the socket you've identified, contact us and tell us you have no electricity in part of your home. We'll arrange an appointment for an electrician to come and investigate the problem.

If the lighting is not working

If you have no lighting in part of your home, first check if the lightbulb in that part of your house is working or needs to be replaced.

If this does not solve the issue, contact us and tell us you have no lighting in part of your home.

If you've run out of credit

If you use a card meter to top up your electricity supply, the power will be cut off if you do not have enough credit on your account. 

Check the balance of your meter, either on the meter box itself or online. 

If it is too low or zero, you'll you will need to add more credit to reconnect your electricity supply.

Report a housing repair

You can also report an electrical issue by:

• phone on 0300 300 0300
• email at repairs@renfrewshire.gov.uk.

Why we need to do a safety check

We have a legal duty to carry out an electrical safety test in your home every five years. 

This means sending an electrician to your home to carry out a safety inspection. 

We do this for the safety of our tenants and our property; and to fulfil our obligations as your landlord.

Before your electrical safety check

We'll send you a letter around 8 weeks before your electrical safety check is due. 

It's important that you respond to this letter. 

You must contact us to book your appointment.

You can book or change your appointment:

• online through the Report a housing repair form
• by phone on 0300 300 0300
• by email at repairs@renfrewshire.gov.uk. 

If you forget to contact us, we'll send you a reminder.

Unsafe electrical systems or appliances are dangerous and can cause death or injury, so it is very important that you allow us to carry out these checks. 

Your electrical safety appointment

As part of your tenancy agreement, you must allow us access to your home so that we can carry out these essential checks. 

If you do not, we may have to force entry to your property, and you'll have to pay any costs such as repairs to the door.

Before we arrive, make sure:

• the cupboard or area around the fuse box and electricity meter is clear so the electrician can access it
• all electrical sockets and light switches are accessible.

We'll carry out the inspection in a safe manner and clean switches and surfaces before and after the safety test.

What to do if you're homeless or could become homeless

If you're under 25 years old, we can help if you're homeless or if you're worried you could become homeless.

A youth housing adviser will talk to you, find out more about your situation, and go over your housing options.

Phone us on 0300 300 1203 to get started.

Find out how we can help if you're 25 or older.

Support available

Once you phone us, we'll go through a 'housing options interview' with you to see if we can help you avoid becoming homeless and find a positive route into housing.

If we're not able to prevent you from becoming homeless, we'll provide you with emergency accommodation and offer you support to help you in your journey out of homelessness.

If you have a difficult relationship with your family

We work with young people and their families to rebuild relationships.

We can help:

• if you're still living in your family's home and need support to avoid having to leave
• if you're currently homeless, need a temporary place to stay, and would like to rebuild your relationship with your family.

If you need support to keep your current home

We can work with young people and provide resettlement assistance or housing support which will offer practical guidance to help you:

• set up your home
• keep your tenancy.

If you were in care

If you were in care, we'll help you apply for council housing and ask for an assessment of a higher priority because of your care background. This will help you avoid needing to make a homeless application.

Other support available

If you're not sure if we can help or not, phone us on 0300 300 1203 anyway and tell us about your situation. We'll talk through your options with you.

How we can help

We can get you a temporary place to stay tonight if you:

• are worried about sleeping rough tonight
• are not safe in your current home and do not have anywhere else to go.

The type of temporary housing we'll offer you will depend on your situation and what places we have available right now.

What you need to do

Phone us on 0800 121 4466.

This number is free to call, day or night.

You'll speak to someone from the council who will ask about your situation and offer you an emergency place to stay.

This phone number is for people in an emergency situation who need a temporary place to stay tonight. We have other information and help available if you're homeless or could become homeless within the next 56 days.