From 1 April 2024, rents will change:

• most rents will increase by 7.7%
• shared ownership rent will increase by 9.4% in line with leases

We want to provide you with as much information and support as we can to help you plan for the changes.

We have listened to feedback from customers and are telling you this news as soon as we could.

We are here to support you and there is a range of information below to help.

If you feel like you need to speak to us about your rent or service charge, please get in touch and we will be happy to help:

• email us at customerservices@thirteengroup.co.uk
• call us on 0300 111 1000
• visit a store in Middlesbrough, Stockton, or Hull

Why we need to increase your rent

The price of everyday items continues to go up and the cost of living is still a challenge for many people.

Although this has slowed down, we are still dealing with high prices for the things we need to buy so we can deliver services to you.

For Thirteen, this includes the price of building materials to deliver repairs and modernise homes. For example, the cost of:

• heating systems have gone up by 14%
• bricks have gone up by 32%
• kitchen replacements have gone up by 14%

As well as the cost to deliver important services for you, increasing your rent will help us to keep:

• investing heavily in improving existing homes – this year we are investing £66 million to modernise more than 5,000 homes
• responding to around 140,000 repairs every year – we have had 10,000 more repairs to carry out this year compared to last year, which increases our costs - this is around £50 million
• supporting customers through tenancy support services such as anti-social behaviour, domestic abuse, and cost of living support
• supporting communities to thrive through our community resilience team

How rent is set

We are regulated by the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH).

The RSH makes sure Thirteen and other housing providers set their rent the same way, and that customers can afford them. This is called the Rent Standard.

The RSH currently allows us to put rent up by the same rate as Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation in September of the previous year, plus 1%.

CPI inflation in September was 6.7%, plus 1%. This adds up to 7.7%.

Last year, the Government capped rent increases to 7%. This is because inflation was high at 10.1%. Rent was increased well below inflation.

Shared ownership rent

Shared ownership rent is slightly different. These can go up by the same rate as Retail Price Index (RPI) inflation in September of the previous year, plus 0.5%.

RPI inflation in September was 8.9%, plus 0.5%. this adds up to 9.4%.

What the rent increase will cost you
 

To help, we have provided some examples of what a 7.7% rent increase, excluding a service charge, will cost you per week.  

Here is an example of how the increase will affect your rent:

If you receive Universal Credit

If you receive Universal Credit the Government is increasing
the amount people will receive by 6.7% from the beginning of April 2024.

Help and support available to you

We understand the cost of living is worrying a lot of people and we are here to support you.

If you are worried, please speak to us. There are lots of things we can do to help you and provide advice on.   

Visit our cost-of-living support page for further guidance and advice.

You may also be eligible to get help with your housing costs. If you are not sure, call us on 0300 111 1000 and we can help you.

How our costs have gone up

The cost of living has also had an impact on Thirteen. We are paying more for almost everything.

Since 2022, we have seen huge cost increases:

• the cost of managing our homes is up £5m
• the cost of repairing and maintaining our homes is up £6m
• investment in modernising homes is up by £20m +
• the cost of community support is up £2m +

Although we work hard to keep our costs down as much as possible, we need to increase rent to keep delivering these important services for you.

The table below shows how rent increases have not kept up with the increase in inflation over recent years. The gap between the two is 11.7%.

How we spend our rent income

As a housing provider there are lots of things we need to pay for.

This mainly involves, repairing, maintaining, and modernising existing homes to keep customers safe and properties up to standard. As well as building new homes to help address the housing shortage and create new housing opportunities for local people. 

The diagram below shows how we spend our money to provide the services customers need and rely on us for:

In addition

• Building new homes – we spend around £140 million on building new homes for local people. We fund this using grants and money from loans.

Service charges

We pay for a range of services to run and maintain shared buildings and spaces.

The cost of running these buildings has gone up, just like the cost of living has gone up. This means it is more expensive to run, and we need to pass these costs onto the customers that live in the buildings and benefit from the services.

We do not make any money on service charges. We simply recover the costs we must pay to deliver the services. 

The amount your service charge will change by depends on the building. If you pay a service charge, we will tell you the exact costs when we write to you in one month. 

Getting further information

We will send your formal notice of the rent increase, with exact details of your new charge(s) before the end of February. This will give you 1 month of advance notice.

If you pay a service charge, you will also get the exact information about these changes at the same time.

The information you receive will tell you your rent and service charge costs from 1 April 2024 until 6 April 2025.

If you receive Universal credit, you will need to keep your formal notice of the rent increase so you can update your journal to continue getting financial support.

You don’t need to do anything else now. But if you feel worried or need support you can reach out to us to talk. We’re here to help.  

In the meantime, please wait for your rent increase letter where we will let you know the next steps you might need to take.