In November, the Government announced a cap of 7% on social rent increases for the forthcoming financial year and we will be following this.

Rent payments enable us to manage, maintain and improve existing Cottsway homes.

Like everyone, Cottsway is facing rising costs and the rent increase will not cover these, but we know how important it is to keep costs down as much as possible for our customers. We are committed to working to continue delivering our services despite these challenges.

The letters we are sending include the amount of rent customers will be paying from April, along with any service charges that apply, as well as information on help and support available if needed.

To summarise:

For tenants

Rent levels would normally be set at 1% above the Consumer Price Index (CPI) – meaning that rents could have potentially increased by 11% from April.

For shared owners

Rent normally increases annually in line with the terms of the lease. This is based on the September Retail Price Index (RPI) from the previous year - meaning rents for shared owners were due to rise by at least 12.6%.

Cottsway has decided to apply a cost-of-living credit, to subsidise rents for shared owners and reduce the increase to 7% for the coming year. 

Help and support

The letters contain lots of information on help and support available, but if anyone is worried about paying their rent, they should contact Cottsway at the earliest opportunity:

• Contact us
• Call 01993 890000
• Or talk to one of our advisors during office hours via our live chat service – simply click on Live Chat button at the bottom of your screen.

Alternatively, we grant fund the local Citizens Advice service and all Cottsway customers can use this for free, independent and confidential advice. Simply call freephone 0300 303 8618