Rent Changes for 2024/2025
How rent levels are being set for 2024/2025
MDH follows rules set by government when calculating any changes to your rent each year. Since 2001, rents for properties let on ‘social rent’ have been based on a formula set by Government. This creates a ‘formula rent’ for each property, which is calculated based on the relative value of the property, relative local income levels, and the size of the property. Annual rent changes were limited and landlords were expected to move from the actual rent of the property to the formula rent. From April 2016, the Welfare Reform and Work Act 2016 required social landlords to reduce their rent by 1% each year for the four years between April 2016 and March 2020.
In October 2017, the Government announced its intention to set a long term rent deal for local authority landlords and housing associations. This would permit annual rent increases on social rent of up to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) plus 1 percentage point from 2020, for a period of five years.
However, as the CPI was much higher than anticipated in 2022 the Government capped the increase for existing social tenants in 2023/24 to 7%. For 2024/25, the Council agreed to increase social rent for each property by 7.7%.
What does this mean for tenants?
This means rent will increase by 7.7% for tenants of MDH. All tenants will receive a rent increase letter at the end of February 2024 which will explain your new rent amount which will be charged from the 1st April 2024 and will be collected over 52 weeks, this means there is a rent free week on the 31st March 2025. The actual average social rent charged by the Council will be £96.81 per week (over 52 weeks).
Please refer to the FAQs on the right for more information about the rent increase. If you are struggling and worried about the rent increase, please get in touch with your Income Neighbourhood Officer on 01884 255255 or email htenancy@middevon.gov.uk