Help & Support

We’re intending to post your rent/service charge review letters from 19 February 2024 by 2nd Class post:

• w/c 19 February 2024 – Rent only letter – approx. 17k letters
• 21-22 February 2024 – Leasehold and Share Ownership rent, and service charge letters – approx. 6.5k letters
• 21-22 February 2024 - Social rent and service charge increase letters – approx. 12.5k letters.

• Please read your letter carefully. It contains information you’ll need to be aware of, including details about paying your rent or service charges.
• If you don’t understand any part of the letter or have any questions you think aren’t answered in the letter, check to see if there’s an answer below.
• We’ve made it simpler and easier for you to contact us. If you have any questions, message us on WhatsApp on 07401 329880, use the live chat on our website or call us on 0800 652 0898.

• We’re sending the letters out in batches by second class post. You should get your letter by the end of February. If you haven’t had a letter by 1 March, then get in touch with us.
• If you’ve changed your postal address, it’s important you let us know so we can update your records and can keep in touch with you.

If your rent is charged weekly, monthly, or quarterly the change starts from Monday 1 April 2024. Your letter will explain what is happening and when in more detail.

• Every year we review rents in line with tenancy agreements and government guidance. We follow rules set by the government to calculate any changes to the rent for our social and affordable rented housing customers.
• From April, the rents will increase by up to 7.7%. Government legislation for the year 2024-25 states the rent can be increased by up to CPI (Consumer Price Index) + 1%. CPI measures inflation by looking at changes in the prices of goods.
• If you’re a shared owner, your rent will be reviewed in line with the terms of your lease, which will generally be linked to RPI (Retail Price Index)
• If you claim benefits such as Housing Benefit and Universal Credit to help to pay your rent, the good news is that these will increase in line with inflation from April onwards. We’ll continue to do everything we can to help you and you can find more details on the support we can provide here

As a not-for-profit organisation, all the money we make is invested back into our homes and services.
We’re investing in improving the time it takes to complete repairs, transforming our customer experience, making our homes more energy efficient to help keep energy bills as low as possible and building more affordable homes to address the shortage in the south of England for current and future generations.

• This financial year there are 53 chargeable Mondays in the financial year 24/25 
• If you pay your rent monthly we will use the following calculation: NEW RENT multiplied by 53 divided by 12
• Universal Credit (UC) will not cover the 53rd Monday so ALL UC customers will need to cover this charge.
• Housing Benefit covers all chargeable weeks so are not affected. 
• You can pay this over the course of the year and in most cases its a few £ a week e.g Weekly rent = £200  £200/53 = £3.77 per week
• if you need help or advice on your payments please contact us 

• If your housing benefit is paid directly to us, you don’t need to do anything as we’ll do this for you. You should be receiving a letter from your Housing Benefits office confirming your entitlement from April 2024.
• If the Housing Benefit office asks you to provide any information regarding your claim please provide them with the Rent Review letter as it may affect your claim 
• If you haven’t received this letter by the end of March, then please give your Housing Benefit office a call.
• If you don’t currently claim and feel you will not be able to pay your rent, contact your income officer, and use our Benefit & Budgeting Calculator to see whether you are claiming everything that you are entitled to

• If you receive Universal Credit and have a Universal Credit Journal, you will receive a ‘confirm your housing costs’ to do. Please enter your new rent and applicable service charges in the screens asking for the new rent details. It will look similar to the below:

• If you have a phone claim, you should ring the helpline on 0800 328 5644 as soon as possible after 1 April. If you need help to do this or are making a new claim for Universal Credit, please let us know as we can offer help and support.

If you're working or unemployed, sick or disabled, a parent, a young person, an older person or a veteran, you could be eligible to claim some benefits to help pay your rent. Please visit our Benefits page for more information. You’ll also find a link to our Benefits and Budgeting Calculator, which helps to calculate what benefits you might be able to claim and how changes in your household budget can affect your income.

If you pay by direct debit, we’ll automatically recalculate the amount you pay from April 2024 and let you know in writing separately. Please note, the adjustment may not take effect until your May 2024 payment. The amount you pay will be adjusted to take any delay into account.
If you receive any Housing Benefit, the direct debit will be adjusted after your first Housing Benefit payment is received in April.

• If you pay monthly by standing order you must ask your bank to change your payment amounts from April 2024.
• To calculate your monthly payments, multiply your weekly charge by the number of weeks you are charged (52 in most cases, though some customers in Aldershot pay 48 weeks) and divide by 12 months.
  If you’re not sure how much you should be paying, contact us on 0800 652 0898, WhatsApp message us on 07401 329880 or chat to us through our live chat.
• Please remember to include any arrears or arrangements you’ve agreed with us in your standing order payment.
• Again, if you're unsure of your payment amount speak to one of our team and they'll be able to advise you.

Please contact us on 0800 652 0898, WhatsApp message us on 07401 329880 or chat to us through our live chat.

• This financial year there are 53 chargeable Mondays in the financial year 24/25 so how your rent has been worked out is slightly different this year
• If you pay your rent monthly we will use the following calculation: NEW RENT multiplied by 53 divided by 12
• If the figures still don't make sense, please contact us on 0800 652 0898, WhatsApp message us on 07401 329880 or chat to us through our live chat.