June 2021
From April, We'll be making a small increase to our rent and service charges in order to provide improved services to customers within our communities. This rent increase is consistent with almost all social housing landlords across the UK, to coincide with the government’s recognition that social rents must increase to support the funding of services.
Our rent has been reducing over the last four years, which means on average, our rent will still be lower than it was five years ago.
The rent increase will help to fund a range of new and improved services, which will allow us to begin building back up some of the frontline services that were lost as a result of previous government cuts, and providing more efficient repairs and maintenance to our customers.
We understand that our customers may need to budget for any increase in charges, and we will endeavour to support people wherever possible. We will be contacting all customers to explain the rent changes, along with details of the support and money advice we can offer. We encourage any customers who would like financial support to get in touch as soon as possible.
Find a rent surgery near you
If you claim Housing Benefit we will let the council know about the changes to your rent and service charges. They will write to you before the end of March to let you know how much Housing Benefit you will receive. If your Housing Benefit isn't as much as the full weekly charge you need to arrange to pay the difference.
If you claim Universal Credit you'll need to update your online journal. You will receive a prompt in your journal to update your housing costs. These need to be done on or soon after 6th April. If this is not completed in the April assessment period you will not receive enough Universal Credit to cover your rent.
Further explanation of your service charges can be found here
