Wakefield and District Housing (WDH) has written to all tenants to outline our proposals for a change in the way rent will be calculated from April 2010.
Rent is calculated using government guidelines to make sure all social housing rents are at nationally set levels by 2012. These levels are called ‘target’ rents, which include an annual adjustment for inflation.
The current economic situation means there was negative inflation or ‘deflation’ at the point when rent levels for this year were calculated. By April 2010 it is expected that inflation will be above this level. This means we will experience increased costs potentially affecting our ability to maintain services for tenants in the future.
We are committed to setting rents in accordance with guidance administered by the Tenant Services Authority and our own rent policy. Government guidelines and our rent policy allow us to apply a 5% allowance to the target rent levels. We are therefore proposing to apply this allowance to the target rent levels from April 2010. This would apply to both former tenants of Wakefield Council and new tenants of WDH since the transfer in 2005.
As rents are calculated on an individual basis, using the government’s formula, each rent calculation will be different and will be detailed in tenants’ annual rent notification.
For all existing tenants, the proposed new target rent change will be brought in by 2012. All rents will be subject to an annual rent calculation in line with government guidelines and will vary depending on individual circumstances. For all new tenants the revised rent levels will be applied from April 2010.
It is anticipated that the average increase in rent to be applied in April 2010 will be approximately £1.57, (2.34%). This is the lowest annual increase applied by WDH since 2005.
We are a strong and viable organisation contributing significantly to the local economy, supporting people and communities throughout the district.
Tenants can make any comments about this issue by either emailing tenants@wdh.co.uk or phoning OneCALL on 0845 8 507 507. Alternatively they can attend one of our local rent consultation events. Details of these events can be found in the Related Links section of this news story and advertised in our Homesearch supplements.
Please ensure that we receive any comments on or before 9 am on Monday 22 February 2010. Any comments received in this time will be considered by WDH when deciding on whether to implement this change.