Elected Member Briefing - Update on rent levels for 2024/25

About this Briefing Note

Report by: Elaine Ritchie, Senior Service Manager, Housing

EMBN Number: 018-24

Date: 20th February 2024

Subject: Update on rent levels for 2024/25

Responsible Officer: Michelle Dow, Service Manager

Details

Purpose

This briefing provides an update on the agreed rent level for 2024/25 and the range of financial support in place for our tenants.

Briefing Information

Consultation update

In October 2023 we issued you with a briefing about the consultation with tenants on our rent level for 2024/25.

A total of 2,944 tenants responded to the rent level consultation in November and December 2023 - 36.7% of our tenants.

This was the biggest ever response to our annual rent level survey and compares to 2,625 responses last year.

Out of the three proposed options over half (58.6%) of tenants said they preferred the option of a 6% increase. A 6% increase was then approved by the Housing and Social Wellbeing Committee on 24^th January 2024, in line with the preference of our tenants.

The increase, which comes into effect from Monday 1^st April 2024, will allow us to make new and increased investment in:

• Additional Trades Staff to support the introduction of a new evening and weekend appointment system for our Repairs Service - £90,000
• New staff to meet the requirements of compliance and service & maintenance - £332,000
• Buy Back funding of £20million over 5 years to purchase approximately 40 ex-Council properties per year to boost our housing stock
• Investing in our Internet of Things project which provides tenants with free household wi-fi sensors that monitor air quality and humidity - £56,000
• Increased Estate Based Initiative funding for tenant-led neighbourhood improvement projects - £50,000
• Additional anti-social behaviour measures - £39,000
• Continued funding for digital, financial & social inclusion projects for our tenants.

It will also cover some increasing costs that are being faced by the Housing Revenue Account (HRA).

Affordability

When we put together our rent level proposals, we do a lot of work to make sure they are affordable for our tenants.

The new rent level will mean an average weekly rent increase of £4.51 per week, with an average weekly rent of £79.94.

Perth and Kinross Council will have the 5th lowest rent in Scotland, £5.36 lower than the projected Scottish average.

Cost of living support for tenants

We are of course aware that some tenants are struggling with the cost of living. To help them, a wide range of support measures have been put in place including the Tenancy Sustainment Fund and the Think Yes budgets available to our Locality Teams.

Staff have recently been reminded of this funding and encouraged to use it to assist eligible tenants wherever possible.

When speaking with tenants, staff have also been encouraged to remind them of the rent level change and enquire whether they might need some help or support to pay their rent.

A cost-of-living support leaflet was issued with the letter we recently sent to each tenant household informing them of their new rent level.

A renewed communications campaign has also been recently launched to remind tenants of the range of financial support available to them from Locality Housing Teams and other Council colleagues. This includes electronic bus shelter signage, social media posts, emails and text messaging.

As an elected member, if you are supporting a tenant who is struggling to pay their rent you can make sure they take advantage of any financial support or advice that Housing staff and other Council colleagues can provide. Tenants can access support by calling us on 01738 476000 (option 2).

Support for tenants with service charges

All tenants within the sheltered housing complexes and multi-storey blocks with shared heating and lighting will see rises in their service charges from April due to the increase in energy costs.

We will be visiting Market, Milne and Lickley Court to provide signposting for tenants and owners who may be struggling with the increase in costs. We have been working with Welfare Rights who will be there to ensure a seamless and confidential assessment for anyone who wishes a referral. Please note that this is available to all tenants in Perth and Kinross who are struggling with the cost of living.

Information on all the cost-of-living support in Perth and Kinross is available on our website.