Housing association increasing rent charges please advise

Tomtom07

I have received notice that my rent is going to be increased by 5% starting next month, in the letter it states that they can't increase rent by more than 1\2% over inflation plus £2. Considering the country is having the problems it is and we are currently in a state of deflation surelythere should be no increase (or even a decrease) in the amount for the new year.

The increase is for the rent of the property only and does not Inc maintance as this is part of the service charge we pay(which has also gone up and I will be contesting)

Any advice would be welcome

Thanks in advance

mitchaa

CPI is currently at 3%, averaged out it has been a lot higher than that + 1/2% gives you 5% easy.

HA homes are cheap as chips to rent anyway, any increase is going to be minimal, even by 5%.

I dont think you have a leg to stand on, you can count yourself lucky that you are paying 50% or so of the cost if you were to rent the same house privately.

Just my opinion anyway

PasturesNew

You're in secure, HA, affordable housing.
The rent increase is in their guidelines.
5% of not a lot is just a little more.

And, you've enough money to be buying iphones, so it's not a hardship case: http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1196083

squinty

Rent increases this year are based on inflation last September which was about 5%. Nationally rent increases will be about 6.2% this year.

Also, the HA, as well as local authorities, actually have very little say in the rent. They follow a formula set by government which takes into account local earnings, house value, size etc.

Any service charge shoulod cover the cost of provision, and is not a scam to make money.

You will probaly find that the only option to avoid paying the increase is to end your tenancy - good luck finding something in the private sector of the same quality for the same money. !

MunnyBoiler

Hello

I want to add my support to what Squinty says. Rent increases are based on the RPI for the previous Sept so keep on eye on what it is in Sept 2009 so you are prepared for your April 2010 rent increase.

If you are worried about affordability, why not check if you are entitled to Housing Benefit? Go to the website of the Local Authority you pay your council tax to and under their benefits information section, they should have an on-line HB calculator where you can fill in the financial information required and it will give you a rough guide to see if you are entitled to HB.