22 February 2010
Rents going up or down
Over 8,000 Whitefriars Housing Group tenants are to benefit from having their rent reduced. Whitefriars are currently sending out rent notification letters to all of its 16,000 tenants. Some customers are receiving a rent reduction and some a rent increase.
We asked Simon Brooke Head of Rent Services to explain why.
“We increase our rents each year in April. The formula is the inflation figure plus
0.5%. This year due to the recession we face an unusual situation in that inflation was minus 1.4%, so adding 0.5% makes for a 0.9% reduction in rents this year. For a typical rent of £75pw this means a reduction of about 60p. The exact figure will depend on any changes to service costs/charges.”
But that does not apply to all Whitefriars customers.
Simon explained “I wish it was that simple, in 2006 we started moving our rents towards “target rents” set in line with Government requirements. So for all customers
paying the “target rent” it will mean a rent reduction but for those not yet at target rent, we increase the rent by up to an additional £2.17 per week, again in line with Government guidelines. So although these customer benefit from the -0.9% reduction in rents, overall their rent will increase”.
Rent notification letters are being sent out from 19 February explaining how individual customers rent will be affected. Staff will be available to deal with any questions from our customers.
Customers in receipt of housing benefit will be notified of their new entitlement by the City Council’s Benefit Section by the middle of March.
Simon also wanted to remind our customers that if they are struggling to pay their rent they should talk to their Rent Services Officer at our housing offices straight
Away.
“Please talk to us as quickly as possible. Contact your housing office for help with claiming benefits, give advice about debts and make agreements to clear any arrears. If customers don’t speak to us early enough, the financial problems often get worse and they may end up losing their homes. That’s why its so important to contact us quickly, if you are having difficulties.”