Your Rent
The rents our tenants pay is the only source of income for the Association and therefore is extremely important as it is the only way we can pay for the range of management and maintenance services we provide.
How Rents are Set
The Association's Rent Setting Policy has four basic objectives:-
- To make sure the rents are consistent across the stock
- To ensure that the income from rents is sufficient to cover all the Association's financial commitments and to provide the range and standard of services expected by our tenants
- As far as possible, keep our rents affordable and comparable with those charged by other social landlords in the area
- To provide an easily understood methodology on how rents are set for individual properties
The level of rent charged for an individual property take into account:-
The number of bedrooms and spaces (2 bed spaces for a double bedroom and 1 bed space in a single bedroom)
The number of habitable rooms (living room, dining room etc)
If the kitchen is a separate and defined room (if not a slight deduction is made in the rent calculation)
If the property has a full heating system (if not a slight reduction is made in the rent calculation
The full Rent Setting Policy can be viewed here.
What the Rent Covers
In return for the rent you pay, the Association will:-
Provide you with a range of services, advice and support to ensure that you can live in your home safely and comfortably for as long as you wish to do so
Assist you to apply for another home if your current one no longer meets your housing needs
Maintain the external and internal fabric of the building you live in
Carry out repairs to your home
Make improvements to your home to ensure it complies with current legislation and standards
Ensure there is full buildings insurance cover for the property
What the Rent Does Not Cover
Your rent does not cover:-
Your council tax
Insurance cover for your personal contents
Gas and electric bill (unless it is a common system)
Additional services to the common areas (these are charged as an additional Service Charge)
Personal care and support
Service Charges
Annual Rent Review
Every year the Association reviews the rents it charges taking into account:-
- How much it has spent the previous year
- What it expects to ahve to spend in the coming year to provide the services expected and to meet all of its commitments
- Expected increases in costs and external factors such as inflation
- Other anticipated pressures and demands on its finances
Tenants and sharing owners are invited to participate in a consultation exercise on any proposals to change the rents charged and all responses are considered by the Management Committee before a final decision is made.
By the end of February each tenant and sharing owner is issue with a letter detailing their individual rent and service charges for the coming year before they are applied at the end of March.