Changes to your rent from April 2023

With the cost of living rising and energy prices going up, we understand that many people might be concerned about the affect this will have on how much money we all have to spend each month.

The rent you pay goes towards us ensuring that we can continue to provide you and our other customers with a safe, secure home. It allows us to provide maintenance services and have someone available to help you if you have a tenancy query. It also means we can build more affordable homes for people in communities with a housing shortage.

As the cost of living and materials rises, so does the amount of money we need to spend to continue to provide you with a modern, reliable customer service. Last year we invested £68.8m in maintaining and repairing our homes, and we’ll continue to invest to ensure our properties remain safe and well maintained.

To read more about the services we provide and the investment we make in our homes and our communities – click here.

Your rent from 2023

From 3 April 2023 you may notice an increase in your rent.

For the majority of customers, your rent will increase, and in most cases this will be below the rate of inflation.  We will contact you in the usual way, in writing, to confirm your new rent and other charges before 3 April 2023. We understand that any rent increase can be worrying, and we’re available to answer any questions or concerns you might have.

Service charges

Some customers also pay service charges for a range of services we provide such as ground maintenance or lighting in communal areas. Each year we look at how much we’ve spent providing these services and adjust service charges accordingly. Most service charges are variable which means that they could go up as well as down.

This year, service charges have seen an inflationary rate increase with the exception of electricity and gas which has seen an above inflationary increase.

Help to manage your money

If you’re worried about paying your rent or service charges, we’ll do all we can to help you to manage your money. Call us on 0333 400 8222 and our financial wellbeing advisors are ready to help you.  Last year we helped families access over £566,664 in additional income, and supported 2,014 people.

We can help you set up realistic repayment schedules if you’re in arrears and connect you to other support services in your community if you need them.

You can use our free Money Advice Tool, which helps with budgeting and checks you’re accessing all the support available to you.

You can also visit our cost of living hub to see the support available for a range of services, from energy costs to accessing local food banks and warm spaces.

Answering your questions

We’ll be getting in touch with you again in February to confirm the details of your new rent payment, but in the meantime, we’d encourage you to talk to us if you’re worried about paying your rent or other charges.

You can call us on 0333 400 8222 or visit our MyAster portal for more support and advice.

For more information including some frequently asked questions click here.