How we set your rent and service charges

For our social rented tenancies, we follow rules set by the government when we calculate any changes to your rent each year. This year, the rules allow rents to be increased by September 2019’s Consumer Price Index, a common measure of inflation, plus an extra 1%.

The Consumer Price Index in September 2019 was 1.7%, so our social rent tenancies will increase by 2.7% from Monday 5th October 2020.

This will be the first time we have increased your rent in five years.

When an affordable rent property is first let, or is re-let, the rent is calculated at 80% of what the market rent is for a similar property within the area. Once this initial rent is set any changes to that rent is calculated using terms of the tenancy agreement and the rules set out in the government’s Rent Standard.

This year, this allows rents to be increased by September 2019’s Consumer Price Index, a common measure of inflation, plus an extra 0.5%.

The Consumer Price Index in September 2019 was 1.7%, so our affordable rent tenancies will increase by 2.2% from Monday 5th October 2020.

This will be the first time we have increased your rent in five years.

Shared Ownership allows you to buy a share of a property and rent the remaining share from us. The amount of rent paid is dependent upon the share that you own. For example, if you had purchased a 60% share you would only be charged rent on the remaining 40%.

Rather than a tenancy agreement, shared owners have a lease. This lease outlines the responsibilities on both the shared owner and us. The lease also sets out how the rent will be reviewed. Although leases may vary the rent calculation tends to allow for an annual inflationary increase + 0.5% each year.

Fair rent applies to a tenancy that began before 15th January 1989. The rent is calculated independently by the Valuation Office Agency every 2 years.

The rent that Valuation Office Agency register is the maximum that can be charged until the rent is registered again.

It is possible that we may review the amount that we are charging you on the first anniversary of the registration but this amount will never be greater than the registered rent.

For the majority of tenants, we operate fixed service charges.

This means that on an annual basis we estimate how much it will cost to deliver services to your home. We review this cost each year, and for the period April 2020 to March 2021 we have applied a 2.7% increase to your service charge.

Each August we will supply you with details of your service charge. This will provide you with a breakdown of the services provided.

Every August you will receive details of your rent and service charge for the coming year.
Although we offer a range of payment methods Direct Debit is our preferred method of payment. Whichever payment method you choose you must ensure that your payments cover the new charges.

If you already pay by Direct Debit your payment amount will be changed automatically. We will send you confirmation of the new amounts along with the dates that this money is collected. If you would like to set up a direct debit to pay your rent going forward please call 0161 331 2000 or 0300 011 1144.

If you pay by Standing Order you will need to inform your bank of the new amount as we cannot change this for you.

If you are currently in receipt of Housing Benefit, we will aim to notify the Local Authority of the new amount. However, it is still your responsibility to ensure the correct level of housing benefit is being received.

If you are in receipt of Universal Credit we are unable to inform the Department for Work and Pensions that your rent charge is changing. To ensure that you receive the correct payment of housing element it is essential that you notify the Department for Work and Pensions of this change.

To do this you must input a note on your online journal informing Universal Credit of your new rent charge. If you do not manage your Universal Credit claim online please call 0800 328 5644. Please be aware any delays in doing this may cause you to be paid an incorrect rate of Universal Credit which could result in you accruing rent arrears.