2.7% rent increase for Housing Executive tenants from April 7

The Housing Executive will be contacting its tenants over the next weeks about their annual rent charges, which will increase by 2.7% from April 7.

This equates to an increase of £2.16 on the average weekly rent and will bring the average rent for a Housing Executive home to £82.05 a week, excluding rates.

Each tenant will receive a letter over the next few weeks advising of their new rent charges, and what they need to do.

Housing Executive Chief Executive, Grainia Long, Chief Executive, said; “Rent pays for essential high-quality customer and neighbourhood services as well as ongoing maintenance of our homes and significant improvement work.

“The increase goes straight back into our houses and our tenant services.

“We plan to spend over £287m next year in improving and maintaining our homes, this is an increase of £37m on last year, with more than a quarter of our homes being upgraded with work programmes.

“Importantly, £49m of this will go to installing new energy efficient measures in over 10,000 of our homes.

“We understand that any increase in rent may be challenging for some tenants and we have a dedicated financial inclusion team to ensure we have right support in place. 

“We encourage any tenant who is having difficulty paying their rent, to contact us immediately for assistance and advice.

“We would also reassure tenants that we will only take legal action in circumstances where rent is not fully paid and a tenant refuses to engage with us.

“We have included details of how to get in touch and the help available in our letter to each tenant.”

Approximately 80% of Housing Executive tenants receive full or partial Housing Benefit support or Universal Credit towards their rent. 

Last year, rents increased by 7.7% - an average of £5.72 per week.

Support for tenants

We are committed to supporting tenants and we would encourage anyone who is experiencing financial difficulties to contact us so we can provide help and advice.

We provide one-to-one assistance, helping tenants manage their money, cope with their bills and ensure they are receiving all the benefits they are entitled to.

We have expanded our financial inclusion team to pro-actively identify tenants who may benefit from financial advice. Information on cost of living support and advice is also available on our website at: www.nihe.gov.uk/housing-help/cost-of-living-support-and-advice

If tenants are concerned about their rent payments they can contact their Patch Manager by phoning 03448 920 900.

They will provide advice and support and can make referrals to our Financial Inclusion Managers.