council homes - rent - heating

lee8040

hi i have a council flat in epping but wondered if this was also occuring over the country. our flats currently have blow air heating but they are slowly fitting central heating in some flats. rumours have it that they fit it then up your rent by £100 a month.

anyone had any experience with upgrading there heating in council houses/flats and did they increase your rent?


thanks

lynzpower

i would suggest that the rumours are untrue.

If you look on the rent services website it states

Fair Rents are a form of rent control applicable for most private sector rented accommodation without a residential landlord and which was let before 15 January 1989. The Rent Act 1977 provide the rules for setting Fair Rents and the Rent Acts (Maximum Fair Rent) Order 1999 limits the amount of rent that can be charged by linking increases to the Retail Prices Index. Further information is available in the Information leaflets available below.

http://www.therentservice.gov.uk/advice-guidance/fair-rent.asp

So, looks like they cant put the rent up over and above RPI.

lee8040

thanks whats the RPI all about in idiots terms for me please?


i no it stands for retail price index just wondered what that meant?

thanks

lee8040

lee8040 wrote: »

thanks whats the RPI all about in idiots terms for me please?


i no it stands for retail price index just wondered what that meant?

thanks

does anyone no?

cheers

Lucina_2

I live in a council house that had the following done last year - new central heating, fitted kitchen, bathroom, new roof and a new fire. The only increase was the usual annual increase that was less than £2 .

I guess it's just a rumour and I wouldn't believe it. If you're worried why not give your housing office a call?

lee8040

Lucina wrote: »

I live in a council house that had the following done last year - new central heating, fitted kitchen, bathroom, new roof and a new fire. The only increase was the usual annual increase that was less than £2 .

I guess it's just a rumour and I wouldn't believe it. If you're worried why not give your housing office a call?

what area is your council house?


i may ring the council housing soon

macaque_2

lynzpower wrote: »

i would suggest that the rumours are untrue.

If you look on the rent services website it states


http://www.therentservice.gov.uk/advice-guidance/fair-rent.asp

So, looks like they cant put the rent up over and above RPI.

Are you sure about this.

There are two other occasions where the maximum fair rent will not apply.
1 If there is no existing registered rent.
2 If the landlord has improved or repaired the property and the rent officer considers that the improvement or repair has made the rent at least 15% more than the existing registered rent.

It looks a bit like the installation central heating has been used as an excuse for increasing the rent.

Lee8040 - RPI is the rate of inflation of goods and services.

wherediditallgo

When I had central heating put into my old flat about ten years ago, my rent didn't change at all. Even when the other flats were updated about 5 years later (mine was done earlier because of a medical requirement for it), to give them central heating as well as new kitchens & bathrooms, the rent only went up minimally, & it went up at the normal time of year rather than earlier. I think there must be something in the housing laws that a social housing provider can't increase the rent above its normal increase procedure if it carries out works to maintain or improve the property that would normally come under Health & Safety or providing reasonable accommodation for someone to live in. I think the installation of central heating would come under one or the other of those, if not both, but I haven't a clue about where the legislation on that is. I think the OP will have to speak to their housing office, but I bet they don't know either.

I very much doubt they could increase the rent by this much because, apart from anything else, councils are required to give you advance notice in writing of any increase in your rent - I think it's four weeks/a month's notice. To install something in your home that's going to increase your rent they'd have to tell you before doing the work so that you could say yay or nay to it being installed - it's quite feasible that someone might not be able to afford such a large increase but might still not be entitled to Housing Benefit to help out, in which case they'd be either forced into debt or out of their home. The council cannot do something that affects someone's rent account, especially if it creates arrears, without their consent (even if they overpay you Housing Benefit, they're not allowed under the housing regulations to take the money back from your rent account without your agreement), so if the work's going ahead, I'd say that it will have no impact on your rent whatsoever. You'll still have your usual yearly increase, but that will be around the normal level, certainly not anything like £100pm.