Changes to rent from April 2026
If you’re a Social Housing Resident, your rent is going to increase by 4.8% on the 1st April 2026 for tenants on a monthly tenancy, and on the 6th of April 2026 for tenants on a weekly tenancy.
Here’s what you need to know about the increase, why it’s happening, how it will affect you and the help available to you if you’re struggling.
We will increase rent in line with government legislation at Consumer Price Index rate (CPI) +1%. The CPI for September 2025 was announced by the Government as 3.8% so this means your rent will increase by 4.8%.
We have given the rent increase a lot of thought and have discussed the issue with our Board. We believe that to deliver our commitments as set out in our corporate objectives we need to maximise the money we receive from rents and apply the increase of CPI+1%.
So how will the increase affect you?
If you currently pay £100 per week in rent, your new rent will be £104.80. Rents for all homes will be reviewed, and any changes in rent will be applied from April 2026. You will receive full details of your new rent in a letter that you will receive at the end of February 2026.
If you’re a Shared Ownership Owner, your rents are linked to another measure of inflation-RPI (Retail Price Index) plus an uplift of 0.5%, as per the terms in your lease agreement. This equates to RPI of 4.5% + 0.5% = 5%
What do I need to do to?
What you need to do depends on your circumstances and how you pay your rent, whether that be through your Universal Credit, by Standing Order, Direct Debit or via Housing Benefit.
Full details can be found in the FAQ section below.
I’m struggling to pay my rent.
If you’re struggling to pay your rent or anticipate that the rent increase will cause you to fall into arrears, please don’t let the problem get out of control. Contact our Income Team now on 0115 916 6066. The team will be able to help you to make a plan to keep on top of your rent and point you in the direction of other agencies that can help you.
Frequently asked questions
Q: What will my new rent be?
From April 2026, your rent will rise by CPI (Consumer Price Index) plus 1%. The CPI for September 2025 was announced by the Government as 3.8% so this means your rent will increase by 4.8% if you are a social housing resident.
Example:
If you live in a three-bedroom home and your rent is currently £100 per week, then your rent will increase to £104.80 per week, a difference of £4.80 per week.
We will write to you at the end of February 2026 to confirm how this will affect your rent payments.
Q: Why is my rent increasing?
Like every housing association, we review rents according to the CPI every year. We have discussed the rent increase with our Board and what the extra money will pay for, i.e. maintaining/improving the standard of our homes and building much-needed homes in the area.
In 2026/27 we will spend approximately £3 million on repairs and maintenance of our existing homes. We’ll also spend £2.3 million on investment works, including replacement kitchens, boilers, bathrooms, roofing and window and doors.
We are working towards becoming a net-zero carbon housing association by 2050. As part of this, we have secured £940,000 of government grant funding through the Warm Homes Fund (WHF) Wave 3 programme to improve the energy efficiency of our homes and reduce carbon emissions.
Alongside this funding, we will also be investing our own money, bringing the total investment in our homes to around £1,840,000 over the next three years. These improvements will help make homes warmer, more energy-efficient, and cheaper to run for our tenants.
Q: What is the Consumer Price Index?
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measure used by the government to estimate the average cost of typical household consumer goods and services and how that cost increases over time with inflation. The CPI rate varies and was 3.8% at September 2025.
Q: Do you have to increase my rent?
We need to increase your rent by at least CPI otherwise; we simply can’t deliver what we need to. The increase means we will be able to maintain and improve our homes and community and make our homes more energy efficient through our de-carbonisation project.
Q: What do I need to do to stay in credit?
What you need to do depends on your circumstances and how you pay your rent. This might be through your Universal Credit, by Standing Order, Direct Debit or via Housing Benefit.
– Universal Credit
If you receive Universal Credit, it is your responsibility to notify the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) of the changes to your rent and service charge if applicable.
To do this follow the instructions below:
- Log in to your online Universal Credit account
- Tap on the ‘To do’ button
- Complete the ‘Confirm your housing costs’ to do on the date shown below (do not use the ‘change of circumstances’ to do to report your rent increase)
This should be done by 1st April 2026 for tenants on a monthly tenancy, and 6th April 2026 for tenants on a weekly tenancy.
If you don’t do this, you will be underpaid your housing costs which will result in arrears on your rent account.
– Standing Order
If you pay by standing order, you will need to contact your bank to change your standing order to reflect your new rent payments.
– Direct Debit through Allpay
If you pay by Direct Debit, we will increase the direct debit accordingly and Allpay will notify you of the change in direct debit.
– Housing Benefit
If you receive housing benefit, you do not need to do anything as we will inform the provider of the change.
Q: I pay service charges – will the same increases apply?
Your service charge may increase but this will vary for each household as it will depend on what type of service charge you pay.
Please be assured that we will only set service charges in line with our policy. Your rent letter will let you know how much your service charge will increase by.
Q: Can I appeal the rent increase?
Contact us and we can talk to you about why this rent has been applied. If you are still not satisfied, we can refer you to an independent body who will consider your dissatisfaction.
Not paying your increase will result in rent arrears building up on your account and we will have to take action to recover the unpaid rent that is due.
We want to avoid this unpleasant and unnecessary situation as it may end up with you facing more debt and possibly legal fees which would only make your financial circumstances more difficult.
Q: I’m struggling to pay my rent, what should I do?
If you are struggling to pay your rent, please talk to us. Speak to our Income Team on 0115 916 6066. They will be able to help you to make a plan to stay in credit and signpost you to organisations who can help you make the most of your money.