We know that the impact of the ongoing cost of living crisis is a real challenge for many of our customers and so the decision to raise rents has not been one that has been taken lightly.

This year the difficult decision has been taken to increase rents by 2.7%. This is in line with government guidance to increase rents by one percent above the September 2024 Consumer Price Index of inflation (CPI) which was 1.7% (i.e. 1.7% + 1% = 2.7% increase)

The income from your rent is used to provide services and to maintain and build affordable homes for our customers. Over the past few years we’ve experienced considerable increases to our costs of providing these. Your rent has been increased to help cover these costs.

We want to continue to invest in providing the level and range of services that our customers want. All income raised through rent increases will be invested in this, as well as modernising and improving existing homes and building much needed new ones.

The rent increases and potential impact on customers was considered by the Customer and Board Partnership. They provided feedback on this to the Board of North Devon Homes, who considered all the implications of the rent increase before approving it.

This year, rents will be increased by 2.7% from April 2025.

Most tenant’s rent increases are set in accordance with Government rent policies, which is the Consumer Price Index figure as at the previous September, plus an additional 1%.

If you have additional service charges, you’ll have received information about the estimated charges from April 2025 with your rent review letter.

Service charges have been amended to reflect the costs we realistically expect to incur, some have increased and some decreased. 

Your service charges are calculated to cover the costs of providing the service, we don’t make any additional income from your service charge.

The letter you were sent will specify the start date of your new charge.

For monthly rents this will be 1 April 2025.

For weekly rents, your first payment at the new rate should be made no later than 7th April.

You should make sure any payments for your charges due from April are at the new amount.

We will calculate what your new payments should be, and we will contact you in advance of your first payment to confirm this to you. You won’t need to take any action. If you do not hear from us or you do not think the amount is correct, please get in touch.

As this is an agreement between you and your bank, you will need to advise them of the amount to increase this to, and the date that your new payment should start. You should make sure any payments for your charges due from April are at the new amount.

To increase the amount of your recurring card payment, please call our Customer Care Team on 01271 312500 who can increase the card payment amount over the phone.

If your Housing Benefit is paid directly to us, we will notify the district council of your new charges. If you don’t receive confirmation from them of what your new entitlement from April will be, you should also inform them of your new charges.

If your Housing Benefit is paid directly to you, or your claim has only recently started or been paid directly to us, you will need to let your local authority know of your new charges.

You will receive two letters through the post. One will be from us, telling you what your new rent is; the other will be from North Devon Council telling you what your new Housing Benefit entitlement is.

To calculate how much you need to pay, take the Housing Benefit entitlement away from your rent cost. The amount left over is what you will need to pay.

For example, if your rent is £150 and your Housing Benefit is £120, you will need to pay £30.

£150-£120 = £30

We need to send you details each year when there is a change in your rent (and service charges). If North Devon Council (NDC) Housing Benefit (HB) pay your rent directly to us you don’t need to do anything as we will have already let them know about the rent change. You should just keep this letter for reference.

NDC HB will re-assess your entitlement in the light of the new charges and will notify you towards the end of March of your revised entitlement. You should check your weekly housing benefit entitlement against your weekly rent, if the housing benefit does not cover the whole rent then you must pay the difference.

If you are in receipt of UC your housing costs will usually be paid direct to you which means that you must make arrangements to pay your rent to us.

You will be contacted by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) in April, who will ask for your new housing costs. You should use the costs detailed in your rent change letter. Even if your Universal Credit for housing costs is paid direct to us, you still need to tell DWP what your housing costs are. If you don’t they may not pay.

Please contact us for a form, or you can download and print this form and return it to us when you've filled in all the details. 

If you pay by Direct Debit, any additional payment arrangements will be taken into account and included in your new payment amount.

If you pay by any other way and are unsure how much you should be paying, please get in contact with us.

Rent increases are applied in the same way to all our properties. We won’t carry out a review of your rent increase based on your own individual circumstances. However, if you believe an error has been made in how your new rent has been calculated, please let us know.

If you are struggling to pay your rent please do talk to us as we understand that many customers are already struggling to pay their rent. 

We have a Money Matters Team who are on hand to help customers find any support or additional entitlements as we’ll always work with customers who are struggling to maintain their payments. Customer can contact the Money Matters Team or their Income Officer on 01271 312500 who will be happy to help.

We are no longer routinely issuing these. However if one is requested it can be supplied within 10 working days of receipt of a request.