Welsh government sets 5 year rent policy for social housing landlords

The Welsh Housing Minister Julie James has set a rent policy for a five year period beginning from April 2020 to provide certainty and stability for tenants and landlords.

Rents will be able to rise each year by a maximum of the consumers price index (CPI) measure of inflation plus one per cent from 2020/21 to 2024/25 using the level of CPI from the previous September each year.

CPI in September 2019 was 1.7 per cent, so the maximum rent increase allowed in April this year is 2.7 per cent.

Ms James said: “This the maximum increase allowable in any one year, but I have made it clear to social landlords that this is not an automatic uplift to be applied. Affordability is an issue I take very seriously and I am mindful of not placing excessive financial burdens upon tenants.

“I will be expecting social landlords to undertake comprehensive assessments each year which puts affordability for tenants at the core of their considerations. As an intrinsic part of the five year rent policy, I will expect social landlords to set a rent and service charge policy which ensures that social housing remains affordable for current and future tenants.”

She said a series of initiatives have been agreed with social landlords to support joint working on delivering affordability and quality services, including the following:

  • Strengthen work to minimise all evictions and deliver on a new agreement not to evict into homelessness;
  • Undertake a standardised tenant satisfaction survey to assist tenants in scrutinising and comparing landlord performance;
  • Build on the existing commitment to deliver high quality homes, in relation to the DQR 2020 space standards on a phased basis from 2021; and
  • Work towards an aspiration that all new build housing, regardless of tenure, achieves energy efficiency standards of no less than EPC A.

By Patrick Mooney, Editor