Rent Setting Rules
Derwentside Homes reviews its rent and service charges annually. The new charges apply from April each year and all tenants receive written notification of the increase in their charges prior to this date.
In 2002 the government introduced a new method for calculating the rent for all local authorities and housing associations to ensure that all rents are set in the same way and are fair and affordable for tenants.
The new method takes into account the capital value of your property in 1999, the number of bedrooms in your property and local earnings. This is known as Rent Restructuring and is to be phased in over a ten year period to reach Target Rent in 2012. The Target Rent is the rent set by the government for a similar type of home in an area i.e. a 2-bedroomed semi-detached house will have a similar target rent whether the landlord is a local council or housing association.
Each year the tells us the rent increase to use. This year the increase is based on the Retail Price Index (often called inflation) which in September 2008 was 5% + 0.5% + an adjustment to help move towards target rent at a maximum of an additional £2 per week.
Derwentside Homes rent increases are in line with rent increases being made by other local authorities and housing associations.
Download our Rent Setting and Service Charge Policy
Further information on the Government’s rent restructuring policy can be found at the Department for Communities and Local Government website.
