Understand your rent and service charges

We, like many other organisations and housing providers, are affected by the current high levels of inflation. As a not-for-profit organisation, every penny we receive is reinvested in services for our residents, including repairs, home improvements and frontline services.

We review rent levels every year to make sure we can continue providing good quality homes and services. If there are any changes to your rent, these will be explained in your booklet, along with a breakdown of what your payments cover.

If you’d like to talk through your rent or have any questions, please contact us. 

Your monthly amount is shown in the booklet we sent to you. If you’d like to work it out yourself, multiply your weekly rent by 52 and then divide by 12. 

If you receive Housing Benefit, you’ll need to let your local authority know so they can update your claim.

If you receive help with housing costs through Universal Credit (UC), you must tell the DWP about any rent change using the ‘confirm your housing costs’ form in your online UC journal. This form will appear after the 6 April 2026 when it’s time for you to update your details.

If you pay by Direct Debit, we’ll write to you to confirm your new amount. If you pay by standing order, you’ll need to contact your bank to update your payment.

Please contact us as soon as you can. Talking to us early means we can help sooner.

We can explain your options, check whether you’re receiving all the financial support you’re entitled to, and help you apply if you’re not.

Our Financial Support Team offers free, confidential support with budgeting, benefits, managing bills, getting online, and accessing jobs, skills, and training.

We review rent levels every year in line with government guidance. Any change to your rent is shown in the booklet we sent to you. If you can’t find your booklet, please get in touch and we’ll provide the information.

Your service charges cover the services we provide to your home. These vary depending on where you live and represent your share of the cost of keeping your building safe and well maintained.

We base estimates on what we expect it will cost to run and maintain your building or estate. 

In the past, some costs weren’t fully included, so charges didn’t always show the true cost. We’ve updated the way we calculate them to make things clearer and more accurate. These estimates are for the year ahead only.

Your booklet explains any changes to your service charges.

These charges cover the services we provide to your home. What you’re charged depends on where you live, for example:

• Houses on streets usually don’t have a service charge
• Houses on estates often do
• Most flats have service charges unless they are affordable rent, intermediate rent or market rent.

Your booklet includes a full breakdown of what your service charges cover. We always look for value for money and aim to balance service quality with cost.

It’s important you pay your rent and service charges in line with your tenancy or lease.

If payments aren’t made in full, your account may fall into arrears, and we’ll need to take action to recover what’s owed. This can lead to additional debt and court costs.

If you think you’ll have difficulty paying, please contact us as soon as possible so we can discuss the support available.

If you have a question about any of your charges, please contact us and we’ll be happy to help.

Yes. Any changes to your rent or service charges are detailed in the booklet we sent to you. If you need another copy, please let us know.