01223 315036Rent Increase Update April 2020
Changes to rent charges from April 2020
In 2016 the Government passed the Welfare Reform and Work Act which required registered social housing providers like HHS to reduce social housing rents by 1% every year for 4 years.
2019-2020 was the final year of the rent reduction and the Government has now issued a new rent standard which allows housing associations to increase rents from April 2020.
In line with many other housing associations, we have decided to increase our rent charges by 2.7%, which is an inflationary increase based on Consumer Price Index (CPI) plus 1%. This is the maximum allowed by the Government in the new rent standard.
Following four years of operating on a reducing income, the additional income that is collected from the increase will be re-invested to help us meet our Corporate priorities of Providing safe and well maintained homes, Delivering better customer services, Providing more homes in Greater Cambridge, Delivering great value through business efficiency and Developing motivated and effective people.
We know that investing in safe and well-maintained homes is a key priority for HHS customers and the additional rental income in 2020-21 will mean that we can fit 10 more homes will a new bathroom, 15 more homes with a new kitchen, 30 more homes with a new boiler, as well as invest an additional £20,000 to increase the energy efficiency of even more homes.
We will be writing to all customers before the end of February notifying them of their new charges and what they need to do next. In the meantime, we are using all available methods of communication to advise customers of the increase and offering advice and support to anyone who may be worried about their rent payments or any other money concerns.