Traditionally many Housing Association rents have been higher than nearby Council rents. This is now changing.

In 2002 the Government introduced a new rent policy designed to bring Housing Association and Council rents gradually into line. By 2016 rents should be roughly the same for similar properties.

The policy alters how Councils and Housing Associations set rents.

Now, using a Government formula, a “target” rent has been worked out for each Council and Housing Association home.

The target rent is based on the location and value of your home, the number of bedrooms it has and local average earnings. So, there should be a closer link between the rents tenants pay and the quality, size and location of their homes, regardless of whether they are Council or Housing Association tenants.

The Government wants all target rents to be reached gradually, not rushed in or left until the last minute. So year-by-year, actual rents will move towards “target” rents, step by step.

The current Government rent formula says that yearly rent increases should be no more than inflation plus ½% plus £2 per week.  

Once the target rent has been reached for your home Government policy says that rents can only go up by no more than inflation plus ½% each year.

· The Government wants rents for Council and Housing Association homes to remain affordable and well below rents set by private landlords.

· It believes that this rent policy will make the way Council and Housing Association rents are set fairer and easier to understand and that, by 2016, there should be no significant difference between the rent set by Councils and Registered Social Landlords, for similar homes.

For more details on the Government’s plans for housing and the Decent Homes Standard visit:

http://www.communities.gov.ukt.