Affordable Rent advice please?

Tlc275_2

Hello,

I don't know if this is the right place to post but does anyone know much about the relatively new "affordable Rent" levels that can be charged by councils and housing associations?

My question is if a house is let on an affirdable rent can the housing association change it to a social rent level if they were so inclined?

My house is on AR but I wish to exchange with a lady on social rent. She's downsizing which our HA greatly encourage but despite loving my house she can't afford the rent on my 2 bed (my rent is £30 pw more than her 3 bed). I've had a google trawl and can find plenty of info about affordable rent but nothing about whether a housing !!! can change the level to social under particular circumstances?

Can anyone help? Or point me in the right direction?

Thanks in advance,

BigAunty

I'm not an expert in this area so these are just queries and observations.

Are you actually a social housing tenant or do you happen to have a private sector type of agreement (conventional AST) with your social housing landlord?

Because it would strike me that the social housing landlord would not allow swapping between different types of tenure, if that's the case for you. Some social housing landlords operate a variety of tenancies, some assured (i.e. lifetime/secure), some based on short-term contracts.

If the swap can proceed because you have the same type of tenure as the other lady or it is permitted by the allocation policy, get the lady to check her benefit entitlements to see if she would be entitled to any housing benefit that may make up the short-fall in the rent.

Tlc275_2

Thanks for your reply. Yes I'm a social housing tenant with a secure tenancy with no fixed term. The other lady is the same. The only difference is in our rent level, mines affordable and hers is social.

I thought the same about the shortfall being made up by HB, but she claims it's not, I'm not entirely sure how well she looked into it.

I'm going to call them tomorrow I would imagine it's highly unlikely that they would change the rent level, I just wanted to try and find out beforehand whether it would be something that is even possible. At the very least someone may call her and double check her eligibility to HB.

Thanks again for your reply xx

BigAunty

Tlc275 wrote: »

I thought the same about the shortfall being made up by HB, but she claims it's not, I'm not entirely sure how well she looked into it.

I'm going to call them tomorrow I would imagine it's highly unlikely that they would change the rent level, I just wanted to try and find out beforehand whether it would be something that is even possible. At the very least someone may call her and double check her eligibility to HB.

It must be a nightmare for a social housing landlord to administer their rents by tenant rather than by property but good luck with your request and keep the forum informed of the outcome as it could help other tenants in the future.

In the scenario you propose, are you offering to pay affordable rent level at her property to try and claw back the loss of income the landlord would experience by offering to let her transfer her low rent levels to your current higher priced property?

She could be wrong about her HB entitlement or she could be right. Does she still have a spare room if she moves to your property? Even social housing tenants entitled to significant HB due to low income/capital get hit with what is called 'the bedroom tax' or 'spare room subsidy' and can't get full HB if they have an unoccupied bedroom.

If the social housing landlord decline your request, they will have a complaints procedure, plus there's one for the social housing landlord body, too. You could also draw to your MPs attention the fact that the different rental level schemes operated by the landlord are actually crippling the government's intention (through the bedroom tax/spare room subsidy in particular) to encourage social housing tenants to live in properties according to their needs/actual household size and reduce chronic under-occupation in that sector.

driller66

Hello, I need some advice please.
I am a tenant representative for a group in Peterborough.
We rent from Luminous HA and our rent is very high compared to other very similar properties locally.
We have been told that our property is SUB MARKET RENT as opposed to GENERAL NEEDS therefore we are paying on average £60 per week more than others in the same village.
Can anybody shed some light, in laymans terms if possible, on why this is. Also is there any way we can change this situation.
Thanks in advance if anyone can help.

driller66

Anyone please?????

theartfullodger

Dave's government through fatty Pickles, Irritable Duncan Smith etc are strongly encouraging councils & housing associations to put rents up.

Under this government things will continue this way.