Our new social rent setting policy
This week, we have sent out letters to all our residents informing them of their rent charges for 2021/22. Some residents’ rent has been frozen or increased in line with our new affordability assessment.
If you have received a letter and have any questions about it, the information below may help.
If the answer to your question is not on this page or you want to discuss how this applies to you and your home, you can contact us via one of the methods listed at the bottom of the page.
If your rent has increased
If you have received a letter telling you that you are currently paying less than the affordable rent assessment for your home, please be assured we will not increase your rent to this full amount for some time.
To ensure our rents remain affordable for our residents for years to come, we will make gradual increases over coming years. We cannot be specific about how much your future payments will be as it depends on inflation and caps set by Welsh Government. However, in previous years we have increased rents by the following amounts:
- 2020/21 – 2.7%
- 2019/20 – 2.4%
We will always consult with our residents before we make any future rent increases.
We understand the pandemic has impacted on many people’s finances, and we have specially trained staff who can work with you to find out what benefits, grants or funding you may be entitled to and help you apply.
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How we decide what is ‘affordable rent’
We are committed to supporting our residents, both current and future, to access affordable housing in Newport. Our new social rent setting policy explains our approach to rent setting that will ensure all our residents pay a fair and affordable rent for years to come.
Why rent setting is important
Our ambition is simple - to provide, develop and manage quality affordable homes.
Like many other Registered Social Landlords, we are a not-for-profit housing association. This means the money we collect from rent keeps our services running, provides warm, safe homes and builds or regenerates existing homes and communities.
We asked you
We wanted to understand your views on how we should set our rent and service charges from now on, so we asked you:
- What affordable rent means to you
- If your current rent is affordable
- If your service charges provide value for money
- What we should consider as we set our new social rent policy
You told us
- 65% of you said your current rent is affordable
- 31% of you said your service charges provide value for money
- 64% of you said NCH should consider household income when setting rent
- 75% of you said that NCH should consider the different costs involved in running a home when setting rent
What we did
We listened to what you told us to make sure we get the right balance between rental income, affordability and providing you with the services you want.
We will consider household income and the different costs involved in running a home when setting rent and we will work with you to improve the value for money of the services we provide.
Our new social rent setting policy
Our new social rent setting policy is available here.
The policy is based on the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) Living Rent methodology 2015 (The JRF is an independent organisation working to solve UK poverty). The Living Rent method will be used to assess affordability of rent and to determine the ‘percentage uplift’ that will be applied each year.
Our social rent setting policy explains how we set our rent levels across all of our property types and how we comply with Welsh Government requirements on rent setting.
We consider rent to be affordable if low income households in Newport pay less than:
- 28% of income on rent, or
- 33% of income on rent plus service charges combined
- 30% of income on rent for new-build homes, or
- 35% of income on rent and service charges combined for new-build homes
Our affordable Living Rent assessment is based on independently verified information on average earnings in Newport. We take earnings from the lowest 25% of earners in Newport, not your individual household circumstances.
By considering the lowest earners, we are confident that our approach is fair and affordable for all our residents, and meets Welsh Government requirements.
What this means for your rent
We’ve applied our new rent setting policy to all rents from 5 April 2021. This means you will fall into one of two categories:
- Rent freeze or
- Rent increase.
Rent freeze
If your rent and service charge is currently at or above the affordable Living Rent assessment for your home, your rent will be frozen. Details of your individual rent charges will be sent to you week commencing 1 March 2021 with advice on what you need to do next.
Rent increase
If your rent and service charge is currently below the affordable Living Rent assessment for your home, this means you are paying less rent than is considered to be fair and affordable. We will not immediately increase your rent to cover this. Instead, we will make affordable increases each year until your rent reaches the affordable Living Rent assessment.
If you’re struggling to pay your rent
We understand the pandemic has impacted on many people’s finances so please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you are concerned about paying your rent. Our specially trained staff can work with you to find out what benefits, grants or funding you may be entitled to and help you apply.
Our offices are currently closed in line with the latest Welsh Government guidance but we are still here for you when you need us.
Email: enquiries@newportcityhomes.com
Tel: 01633 381111
Website: www.newportcityhomes.com
Facebook: NewportCityH
Twitter: @NewportCityH