What does my rent include?
Your rent covers the cost to maintain the structure and exterior of your home and the fittings within your home related to the supply of water, gas and electricity. Your rent also covers sanitation fittings (basins, sinks, baths and toilets), and the boilers or equipment provided for heating and hot water.
Service charges are used to recover the cost of services we provide which aren’t included in your rent.
Why are you proposing these changes?
The law allows us to charge for the cost of services which are provided to you, or which you benefit from, but aren’t covered by your rent. As a not-for-profit organisation our income goes to providing services and supporting our customers. We’re proposing these changes because it’s important we charge accurately for all the services we provide so we can continue to invest in our homes, improve services and build more affordable new homes.
Why are you proposing to recover these costs?
As a not-for-profit organisation our income goes to providing services and supporting our customers. Covering the cost of these services means we have less funds available to maintain and improve our homes, provide services and build new homes. We’ve been paying the cost to provide these services but it’s not possible for us to continue funding them long-term.
The law allows us to charge for the cost of services which are provided to you, or which you benefit from, but aren’t covered by your rent.
What happens when the consultation period ends?
After the consultation period ends, we’ll review all the comments we’ve received and decide if it’s still appropriate for us to go ahead with the charges.
We’ll write to you again to confirm our final decision by 13 February 2026.
What if I'm struggling to pay this charge?
We’ve taken the decision to cap this increase to help make it more affordable for customers. We’re charging a maximum of £2 a week (not including the management fee) from the confirmed increase date.
We’ll then increase this by £2 a week each year until we’re recovering the full amount of your share of the cost. We’ll cover the difference during this interim period.
So, for example, if your share of the costs, not including the management fee, is £4.50 a week, we’ll charge you:
| Financial Year | Amount per week |
| 2025/2026 | £2.00 |
| 2026/2027 | £4.00 |
| 2027/2028 | £4.50 |
You consulted us last year
Yes, we did consult some customers in 2024 to add new charges from 6 April 2025 and we’re capping those costs. We propose to add these to the capped charges so you won’t pay any more than we previously advised.
Total Proposed Cost
We’re proposing to charge you and your neighbours in the building/scheme an equal share of the total cost for the block or estate where you live. The estimated weekly cost per home, not including the management fee, is calculated individually and we’re proposing to include this in the capped total which is £2 a week from April 2026.