We're writing to customers now to provide as much notice as possible.
Like all housing associations in England, we work within government policy when setting our rent charges. Following the government’s consultation last year, the rent customers pay will increase by 7% from April 2023, excluding service charges where these apply.
Whilst all rents are different, the average increase per household will be around £7.91 a week.
If all of your rent charge is currently paid by housing benefit or the housing element of Universal Credit, and your circumstances don’t change, this increase will be covered by your benefits.
We know this news comes at a challenging time for many of our customers experiencing a range of financial pressures. If you’re concerned about this increase, there is support available:
As a not-for-profit organisation, the rent we receive is invested in our customers’ homes, our services and in building more affordable homes for people in our communities.
In the current economic climate, we face sharply rising costs. We must balance this with the need to keep rent as affordable as possible. This rent increase comes after careful consideration and approval by our board of directors.
We will write to customers again in February to confirm how much their rent will increase by from April 2023. This letter will also confirm any related service charges where these apply, provide details of any actions customers will need to take and answers to questions you may have.