Your rent is the most important payment you make; it’s what keeps the roof over your head.
If you are struggling to pay your rent, we have friendly staff who can support you and offer advice.
Your rent charge is made up of your base rent for the property and you may also have a service charge element such as;
For a breakdown of these charges please view your rent account on the Tenant portal.
When you pay your rent it contributes to the continuously improving service that we provide for you and your neighbours.
This is calculated according to a national rent formula set by Central Government:
Social Rent
In 2002 rents were calculated using a formula set by the Government based on a number factors including the number of bedrooms in the home, average local earnings and the value of the property in 1999. Since this time rents were increased each April in accordance with the Government’s recommended approach which was greatly influenced by the national inflation figure in the preceding September. Whilst there have been a number of minor amendments to the formula over the years, this approach was followed up to April 2015. Following legislation arising from the Welfare Reform and Work Act 2016, the Government abandoned this policy and instead imposed a requirement for rents to be cut by 1% each April for 4 years starting in April 2016.
In some circumstances you may be charged an additional amount for services you receive in connection with your tenancy with us that are not included in the rent. These Service Charges include things such as cleaning costs for communal areas in flats or grounds maintenance costs for communal areas on estates. Service Charges are based on the actual cost to provide these activities and may be subject to an increase each year.
Affordable Rent
In certain circumstances, such as new build homes and some higher value houses, the rent is not based on the Social Rent but is instead termed Affordable Rent. Affordable Rent is set at the start of a new tenancy based on 80% of the full market rent for a similar property in the area. As with Social Rent, the rent has traditionally been subject to an inflationary increase each April, but since 2016 are now subject to a 1% reduction as required by legislation in the Welfare Reform and Work Act 2016.
