For the last 4 years CHS has, along with all other housing associations, reduced your rent by 1% each year in line with a government requirement. From April 2020 we are no longer required to reduce rents each year, although there remains a limit (as there was before 2015) on how much we can increase rents by. From April, CHS will be allowed to increase your rent in line with the rate of inflation – this is measured by the Consumer Price Index as it stood in September 2019, and we are allowed to add a further 1%.
CHS appreciates that the rent reduction over the last four years will have helped many of our customers financially, as your rent is now around 14% lower than it would have been without the annual reduction. It has also put a large strain on CHS’s ability to continue to provide important services and to invest in your home for the long term. The costs we incur, including day to day repairs and to update homes through planned works such as kitchen and bathroom replacements, have continued to increase over the last four years. We also need to plan how to contribute to the future requirements for carbon-neutral homes.
From 6th April 2020 CHS will increase its rents by 2.7%, the maximum allowed this year (service charges are separate – they may go up or down depending on the actual costs of providing these services). We need to increase your rent to continue to provide good services and to invest in your home.
We hope you understand the position CHS is in and the reason we need to increase your rent this year. Our rents continue to be significantly lower than the private rented sector, and of the 27 types of home we assess across different areas of Cambridgeshire, CHS rents are lower than the housing association average in more than half of them.
You will receive formal notice by letter in the first week of March about your new rent and any service charge. If you have any questions in the meantime, please get in touch or email info@chsgroup.org.uk As always, if you are struggling with making your rent payments please contact us – your Housing Officer and our Money Matters team are here to help.