Annual rent increases Q&A for Circle Housing Old Ford residents
This document provides the following information for Circle Housing Old Ford residents:
• Why rent is going up • Where your rent goes • How and when the rise will take effect • How you can get financial advice and support if you need it
If you have any further questions about the changes to your rent payments, please contact us in the following ways:
Phone • 0800 073 0427 (Freephone from BT landlines) or 0300 500 1500 (charged at local rate)
Website www.circle.org.uk/old-ford Benefits calculator: www.oldford.entitledto.co.uk
Why is Circle Housing Old Ford putting up rent? We, like most other housing associations and local authorities, are increasing all of our rents in line with a formula laid down by Government. We have followed this formula since 2001.
Our costs in providing our services to you are increasing. The rent increase means that we can carry on delivering repairs and improvements to your homes and communities. It also allows us to work with residents to invest in services that meet the needs of your community.
We understand that these are difficult economic times. So, this year we are putting much more money into programmes designed to support and help our residents who are struggling financially. As part of this we will be working with our partners to:
- Offer access to support, advice and services which help you to make the most of your money and get further assistance if needed. This includes working with credit unions to offer bank accounts and loans, providing expert advice either directly or through our partners on planning your money, making the most of your income, getting the benefits you are entitled to and much more.
- Make sure that more of our residents have energy saving advice and work to bring down the cost of heating your homes. From sending customers energy saving tips to installing insulation, and new heating systems, we have a massive programme planned to help tackle the rise in fuel costs.
- Offer more training courses through our local partners and providing support to residents who want to find work. We provide a range of opportunities from helping you with your CV to getting the skills and confidence to apply for a new job.
How do you work out how much my rent goes up? Like most other social housing providers, we are following the Government’s guidelines on social housing rent increases. If you’re on an ‘Affordable Rent’ tenancy your rent will increase by Retail Price Index (RPI) + 0.5%.
If you’re on a ‘Social Rent’ (target rent) tenancy, your rent will increase by the Government formula set out below. What is the formula? The Government has set guidelines on rent increases which we follow. This is worked out in the following way:
We add 0.5% to the RPI, which is another term for inflation. To work out RPI, the Government uses figures from the costs of various everyday items measured in the previous September. Last September RPI was measured at 3.2% so we add 0.5% to this.
Then, in some cases, we add up to £2 per week to move to what is known as target rent. The Government formula also allows flexibility for housing providers to apply +5% to target rents for general needs homes and +10% for supported housing. This year we will be applying this flexibility.
If a home has reached its target rent, including the 5% or 10% flexibility allowance, the annual increase is limited to RPI + 0.5%
This is all in line with the agreed Government formula for rent setting which you can find in the Homes and Communities Agency’s Rent Influencing Regime.
Here is an example of an average Circle Housing Old Ford rent increase taking effect in April 2014: 2013/2014 weekly rent £104.70 RPI (+3.2% + 0.5%) = +3.7% £3.87 Subtotal £108.57 Add £2 per week (over 52 weeks) £2.00 Total new weekly rent as of April 2014 £110.57 Total weekly increase on example £5.87
The above table is just an example. Your new rent amount is in the letter that is with this Q&A.
Why are some rents going up more than others? What is target rent? The Government wants tenants of housing associations and local authorities to pay the same amount of rent for similar homes. They decided to bring levels of rent closer together for similar types of homes – this is known as target rent.
Target rent is based on: • the value of your home • the number of bedrooms in your home • the average earnings in your area compared to the national average • the national average housing association property value
Do I need to notify my local council of the change to my rent and service charge so that my housing benefit is updated? If your housing benefit is paid directly to us, we will inform your local council of your new charges for you. You should receive a letter from your council telling you how much your new benefit payment will be. However, it is your responsibility to ensure your benefit has been updated as there can be a delay in your benefit amount being amended in line with your rent increase. If you don’t receive a letter from your council by the beginning of April you should contact them straight away or you could lose out.
If your housing benefit is paid directly to you, then you must notify the council of your new rent and/or service charge. You can do this by sending them a copy of your rent increase letter.
For residents who are currently not claiming benefit, you can check your eligibility by using our benefit calculator or by contacting your local council or any member of our Income Team. Where will rent be invested? We will continue to invest in improving your homes, your neighbourhood and vital projects in the local community. We are also offering more opportunities for training and employment, ensuring more residents can heat their homes affordably, and ensuring that every resident has access to money advice services.
We want to help you create places where you want to live and where people have the chance to improve their own lives.
As well as the normal day to day tenancy and estate management services, last year we invested:
£228,021 on bathrooms £209,818 on new central heating systems and new boilers £468,318 on lift repairs and replacements £38,507 on new windows and doors £281,575.07 on our Excellent Estates programme £339,081 on fire safety improvements £312199 on green technology and insulating your homes £105,094 on asbestos removal
This work and more will continue in the year ahead. Phase three of the regeneration of Orchard Village will include 299 new family homes and a new neighbourhood office and community hub, hopefully including a local NHS walk in centre and new local shop.
In Bow, our investment in Decent Homes, external and communal areas will continue where we aim to invest £7.5million.
We will also continue to invest in new ways to get residents involved, including a series of localised resident events and supporting the new resident scrutiny panel.
Helping our residents get the services, advice and support needed to deal with difficult money issues will be a priority for the year ahead. More information about how we are supporting people facing financial difficulties is available at the end of this Q&A.
How do I get involved in deciding where Circle Housing Old Ford invests in my community? Circle Housing Old Ford works hard to make sure that every penny of rent we receive is ploughed back into providing better homes and communities. We are always looking for ways to do things more efficiently, so that we can reduce the cost of delivering our service to you. We regularly ask residents for their views on how we can improve. Get in touch with our resident involvement team if you want to have a say in how we run your services. Call 0203 583 1526 or email [email protected].
What help is available for residents who find themselves struggling financially? We recognise that these are difficult financial times. Circle Housing will be offering more support for people struggling across all its partners. At Circle Housing Old Ford we offer financial advice to residents through our partner Account3 who hold weekly sessions at our Polydamas Close office. We are committed to making sure that our customers have the opportunity to access basic financial services such as advice, banking, credit, insurance and savings.
We also offer a variety of convenient ways for you to pay your rent to prevent you getting into rent arrears. Direct Debit is the easy way for you to pay your rent. You can instruct us to collect money from your bank or building society account. Get in touch if you want to set up Direct Debit rent payments. How we can help If you are facing debt or rent arrears, please contact us as soon as possible. The earlier you speak to us, the more we can help.
Our Customer Services Team is here to help customers in confidence. Please call 0800 073 0427 (Freephone from BT landlines) or 0300 500 1500 (charged at local rate) to speak to us.
In addition, Circle Housing Old Ford’s Information, Advice and Guidance team offers advice and support to residents and leaseholders who are unemployed or looking to develop their skills or change career. You can contact the team on 0208 981 3298.
Benefit advice The Government has introduced a number of changes to welfare benefits including reductions in housing benefit for those considered to have a ‘spare’ bedroom under what is known as the under occupation penalty. If you need help, support or advice on any benefit changes, please contact us and also look for further information on our website or in Home Matters magazine.
In response to the welfare benefit changes, we have increased focus on the area of financial inclusion. So far this year, our Community Development team have assisted over 600 people in accessing help with personal debt, welfare benefits, budgeting and money advice.
Help with rising energy bills As a Circle Housing customer you can expect that we will meet certain commitments to help you reduce your energy bills. Visit our Energy Advice web pages for more information on saving up to £200 a year by switching your energy supplier, get some top tips on saving energy and find out what help is available if you’re having problems paying your bills. Just go to www.circle.org.uk/old-ford/get-advice/energy-advice.
We’ve got Energy Champions in your area that can help you with energy saving advice too. If you want to know how to contact your local Circle Housing Energy Champions or to become one yourself, please contact Helen Coates at [email protected]
For more information about your rent or anything mentioned in this Q&A, please contact us in the following ways:
Phone 0800 073 0427 (Freephone from BT landlines) or 0300 500 1500 (charged at local rate)
Website www.circle.org.uk/old-ford Benefits calculator: www.oldford.entitledto.co.uk
We realise that increases in rent and other charges are never welcome. However we hope that this information helps you to understand why we are increasing rent, how we calculate what you pay and most importantly how your rent is being invested in your homes and services.
Our promise to you is that we are committed to delivering homes and services which make the most of your money. We will also make sure that you can access the best possible financial advice and assistance if you need help.