Rent increase consultation for 2024/2025 YOU L HAVE UNTI
TH NOVEMBER 1 1 RE YOUR
Each year we need to talk to you about the rent we are considering charging for the following year and how we intend to continue to provide services and carry out the improvements we need to make to your home.
TO SHA HTS THOUG
Over the past few years things have been very challenging for many of you thanks to the rising cost of living. This has added a financial pressure on WSHA and other similar landlords too. Continued rising costs mean that we need to increase the rent we charge you from 1st April 2024 to be able to continue to deliver services and improve homes. In previous years we have limited the impact of rising costs on our tenants and to keep rents affordable, and we will continue to do so. This also needs to be balanced against our costs. Over the past 4 years we did not increase rents two years in a row and the rent increase has been lower than our neighbouring landlords, the national average and the Consumer Price Index (CPI). Continued rising costs to us means that we need to increase the rents for next year. From the 1st April 2024 we are proposing a rent increase of 5.5%.
How much did the rents increase in previous years (%)? Whiteinch and Scotstoun
Landlord 1
Landlord 2
Landlord 3
Scottish average
CPI
2023
3
7
4.9
5.9
5.34
*6.7
2022
1.9
2.6
5.1
2.5
3.3
10.1
2021
0
1
1.2
0.5
1.2
0.3
2020
0
2.2
2.2
2.5
2.4
0.4
(*please note, this relates to August 2023 which is the most recent data available at the time we produced this.)
SEE OVER >
1p
Where did the rent go last year? Services
£0.07 £0.35
Rent loss from bad debts
£0.02
Property depreciation
£0.17
Community Services
£0.02
Interest payable
£0.01
7p
17p
Operating costs and overheads £0.36 Repairs and improvements
2p
2p 36p
35p
We carried out the following: Internal and external painting work total cost £55,000
4275 Routine repairs
total cost £778,000
total cost
100% Gas safety checks
£355,000
£206,000
148 Kitchens
98 Boilers
£650,000
£353,000
75 Bathrooms
YOU L HAVE UNTI
BER 11TH NOAVREEMYOUR TO SH HTS THOUG
total cost
total cost
total cost
We have also invested in you and the community in other ways Our Welfare Rights Team provide a dedicated and responsive service; helping 95 tenants obtain £296,575 (average increase in income of £3,121 per tenant) so far this financial year. We worked in partnership to extend the help available to more of our tenants. For example: •
The Dolly Parton Imagination Library provided a book each month for 35 tenants.
•
We delivered a Christmas event. Take a look at the video we made here.
•
Vodaphone provided 20 free SIM cards to our tenants to help them with online access.
•
We increased our financial commitment to Fair Share who tackle food waste and distribute quality food to those who need it; improving choice for tenants who need help with the weekly shop.
•
We help tenants with some of the basics that help create a home.
We also sought out grants and projects that will benefit as many of our tenants as possible such as the Scottish Government Fuel Poverty Support Fund which meant we were able to help tenants save energy and money with:
229
Air Fryers
19
Slow Cookers
30
Pressure Cookers
27
microwaves
Provided 100s of Cosy Kits
Topped up 100s of gas and electric meters
We had some great feedback for this project, like these:
so much I ‘Thank you d one for have wante ryer)’ ages (Air F
‘Thank y o much fo u so r the air fryer an dt help wit he h my electric ity bill’
‘Can’t wait to use this (s low cooker) bec ause I’ve se en loads of rec ipes and ho w cheap it is to use’
‘Thank y ou much fo so rt help wit he h my gas bill’
‘The cosy kit is a great idea’
‘Love my cosy kit thank you’
‘I work full time on minimum pay and I never get anything, this is amazing, you have no idea how much this will help us’
‘Amazing, cheers’
‘The credit on my electricity a ccount was a gods end’
o idea ‘You’ve n rence this the diffe ill make’ ve w microwa
YOU L HAVE UNTI ER B 11TH NOAVREEMYOUR TO SH HTS THOUG
What next? We must continue to invest in our properties, for you and future tenants. The investment plans for 2023/24 include:
YOU L HAVE UNTI
TH NOVEMBER 1 1 RE YOUR
Routine repairs
£700,000
51 Bathrooms
£255,000
TO SHA HTS THOUG
Compliance
(eg gas and electrical testing)
£316,000
External works
(e.g painting, gutters)
£144,520 106 Kitchens
£505,000
20 Boiler replacements
Close Painting
£67,000
£190,000
What else do we plan to do? We are using feedback to help us shape our community activities and to find the best way of reducing the impact of rising costs to you and to increase your wellbeing. In the recent Tenant Satisfaction Survey you told us that your 3 biggest concerns are:
Energy Costs (76%)
Food Costs (62%)
Child Related Costs (49%)
To help you manage these concerns we have invested in a range of new partnership agreements: •
To help with the cost of school uniforms, breakfast club and skills development
•
Energy saving solutions like new bike storage, cycle provision and maintenance
•
Work experience and employment support
•
Lunch club, playgroup and craft groups
•
Free space for football practice
•
Relational mentoring to help in a variety of practical ways. Listen to Andy’s story to find out more
•
Applying for grants or support that will reduce the impact of energy, food and child related costs
We are also in the process of setting up a Customer Advisory Panel to help us improve what we do and how we do it and are due to open a new Community Pantry in the Whiteinch Centre this year.
What does all this mean for me and the rent I will pay? We began a rent restructure in 2021 to create fairness in how we charge our rents. This means similar homes are now charged at the same rent. On top of that, we also work out how much we need each year to pay for improvements and deliver services such as close cleaning. Many other landlords charge their rent and service charges separately, but all WSHA tenants pay the same towards the services we provide and this is included within the rent total you pay. For example, our estates services are provided by WS Estate Services Ltd (WSES) which includes a free bulk uplift service to our tenants. You can find out more about this service here. As a responsible landlord we forecast our financial activity so we can make sure we will have enough to be able to provide homes that meet the standards laid down by the Government, deliver improvements and help our tenants.
Our business plan requires that we increase the rent by 5.5% if we are to meet this in the year 2024/2025. Any less will mean we would need to reduce spending on what we plan to do. This is not something we can do. We would need to make reductions to investment in our properties and to the services we provide. This would lower the quality of our homes and mean we couldn’t do as much to help tenants to stay in their homes. Ultimately, it would have a long term impact on the viability of WSHA. We understand that some tenants will find a rent increase difficult to afford. We are committed to keeping the rent increase as low as we can whilst continuing to work to improve the energy efficiency of your home and providing help and advice where it is needed.
Example rent for now, and following the proposed rent increase: 1 bed tenement with standard kitchen
2 bed tenement with standard kitchen
3 bed tenement with dining kitchen
Current rent
£398.10
£427.91
£476.67
With 5.5% increase
£419.99
£451.44
£503.14
Note: Whilst the vast majority of tenants will be subject to the same increase, a small proportion will differ because of the phased way the rent restructure was designed to be brought in. We will inform those people separately. If you have any concerns about your tenancy, your Housing Officer or the Welfare Rights Team are here to help.
YOU IL NT HAVE U MBER H VE 11T NHOARE YOUR TO S UGHTS THO
So, now it’s over to you. What do you think?
YO HAVE UU 11 TH NOV NTIL TO SHA EMBER R THOUGHE YOUR TS
You have until 11th November to share your thoughts. After this, the Committee will consider these and the recommended rent increase level and make a decision. We will let you know the outcome and tell you what your rent will be from 1st April 2024. Please let us know by adding your comments by going to our survey website here or by using the tear off slip below and returning to Whiteinch and Scotstoun Housing Assosication, The Whiteinch Centre, 1 Northinch Court, Glasgow, G14 0UG Scan here for survey
!
!
Please provide your name and address so that we can verify you are a tenant. This information will not be used for any purpose other than to check you are entitled to comment, unless you expressly say so. Name Address Yes / No / Unsure
Do you think the rent increase proposed of 5.5% is reasonable? Can you tell us why?
What do you think is the most important service WSHA provides to you, or our tenants as a whole?
Would you be interested in joining the new Customer Advisory Panel and find out more about what your landlord does and why and help us to do things better? Can we use your details you have provided to contact you about this?
Yes / No
! ou y k n Tha Yes / No