Social housing rent rises to be capped in England next year
Rent rises for millions of people living in social housing will be capped next year, the government has announced, but tenants are calling for a full freeze and threatening not to pay increases.
Citing the cost of living crisis, Greg Clark, the housing secretary, said social landlords would be limited to an annual increase of between 3% and 7%, with the exact figure to be set after a consultation, which will also ask if the temporary cap should be in place for one or two years.
At present, social housing landlords can increase rents by consumer price inflation plus 1% which meant tenants were facing the possibility of an 11% jump in rent bills. Such a rise would have also hit the taxpayer as the majority of social housing tenants use benefits to meet their rent.
“We must protect the most vulnerable households in these exceptional circumstances during the year ahead,” said Clarke. “Putting a cap on rent increases for social tenants offers security and stability to families across England. We know many people are worried about the months ahead. We want to hear from landlords and social tenants on how we can make this work and support the people that need it most.”
But tenants warned the cap was inadequate, in part because it would not apply to rises in service charges, and called instead for a complete freeze.
“Between 3% and 7% is not enough,” said Suzanne Muna, the secretary of the Social Housing Action Campaign, who stressed tenants were also facing rising food, fuel and other costs. “This would still be a huge problem for tenants who can’t absorb 3%.”
The campaign said that even before the Covid pandemic and the cost of living crisis, rent arrears among housing association tenants and residents were building at a steady rate
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