At the start of each year, we review your rent for the coming year. The council approved a rent increase of 7.7% to be applied from 1 April 2024. This is In line with guidance set by the Regulator of Social Housing Rent Standards.
Social rent
The majority of our properties are social rent.
The Government sets out the way all councils and housing associations calculate social rent so it’s worked out in the same way. It wants social rents for similar homes in the same area to be comparable regardless of who the landlord is - this is known as the ‘target rent’.
Between 2003 and 2014, the Government used annual rent increases to gradually move rents closer to their target. By 2014 some properties had reached their target and others hadn’t but from then on all vacant social housing in Sheffield was re-let at its target rent level.
How it works
The target rent is worked out using the current national average rent of £94.73 per week and takes into account:
- the number of bedrooms in your home – the more you have, the higher the rent. The weightings we give based on this are: Bedsit 0.80, 1 Bed 0.90, 2 Bed 1.00, 3 Bed 1.10, 4 Bed 1.20, 5 Bed 1.30 and 6+ Bed 1.40.
- the average wage in South Yorkshire – this is compared to other parts of the country and weighted accordingly (for our county this is 0.9453). If wages here are lower than in London, rents will also be lower
- the value of your home – each year we value a number of homes that are typical of our housing stock and use these to value other properties similar in type and location. Homes are valued at January 1999 prices, when the national average property value was £49,750
We base 70% of your rent on the number of bedrooms in your home and the average South Yorkshire wage, and 30% on the value of your home.
As an example, here’s how we would work out the target rent of a 3 bedroom house with a value of £30,000:
- step 1 - take 70% of the national average rent of £94.73 = £66.31
- step 2 - multiply by South Yorkshire average earnings of £66.31 (61.31 x 0.9453) = £62.68
- step 3 - multiply by the bedroom weighting £62.68 (62.68 x 1.10) = £68.95
- step 4 - take 30% of the national average rent £94.73 (94.73 x 30) = £28.42
- step 5 - multiply by the capital value of your home £30,000 divided by £49,750 (the national average property value) = 0.6030
- step 6 - multiply £28.42 by 0.6030 to give the capital value = £17.14
- step 7 - add steps 3 and 6 together £68.95 + £17.14 to give the target rent for 2021/22 = £86.09
Changes to other charges
Other changes from Monday 1 April 2024:
- rents for temporary accommodation will increase by 7.7%
- garage rents for garage plots and garage sites will increase by 7.7%
- the burglar alarm charge will increase by 6.7%
- the sheltered housing service charge will increase by 6.7%
- the furnished accommodation charge will increase by 6.7%
- no increase to the community heating charge at this time
- water charges (for Yorkshire Water customers) will be shown on the second rents letter you receive. If you receive your water charge from Severn Trent then they will collect this directly rather than it being included with your weekly rent
If you pay by Direct Debit
We will write to you during April to give notice of the new Direct Debit payment we intend to request from your bank. The Direct Debit Guarantee requires us to do this at least two weeks prior to any change in the payment. This means Direct Debit payments in April may be the same as March until the change can be made. Direct Debit payments are calculated over the year and any adjustments needed to keep your rent account up to date are made in this calculation.
If you pay by Standing Order
If you make payments by bank standing order, please inform your bank in time for these to be made at the new amount in April.
Help and advice
If you are experiencing financial difficulties or struggling to pay your rent, visit our Help paying your rent page to find out how we can support you or contact us.
Housing Revenue Account (HRA) Business Plan Update 2024-2025
A rent increase of 7.7% was approved by council in February 2024 as part of the HRA Business Plan 2024-2025.
You can download our business plan and budget reports. Contact us on 0114 273 4567 if you would like the business plan in another format.