The decision to set the rents for next year has to be taken by the Board at their meeting in February next year. Under the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001, we have a duty to consult tenants on the proposed changes to rents and service charges.
More details of our approach to rent setting can be found in an article in the latest edition of our tenants newsletter.
We welcome comments from our tenants either posted here, by e-mail or by speaking to one of our Housing Officers.
Ayrshire Housing is a “not for profit” organisation. This means that the rent you pay is used to meet the costs of the management and maintenance of your home and any services that are provided. From the rent we receive we also make payments on loans which were part of the funding package when your property was acquired or developed.
Your rent pays for the staff costs involved in running the association and also for other direct costs such as office accommodation, computers and stationery. Repairs to the properties are also paid for from the rent income.
We are also bound to consider whether our rents are affordable. The Scottish Federation of Housing Associations provides guidance to associations on how to measure affordability. Based on this, our rents are considered to be affordable. The recent tenants satisfaction survey also indicated that most of our tenants consider the rent they pay to represent reasonable value for money.
We also have to ensure that the income we receive is available for the future management and maintenance of our properties rather than just the next couple of years. While we don’t want to increase rents more than is necessary we have to be sure that funds are sufficient to secure the future of the association and its properties for the benefit of current and future tenants.
We also compare our rents with those of other housing associations and the local Councils. Inflation levels, interest rates and costs in the construction industry are also analysed as these all affect our financial projections.
Proposed increase
Taking account of the various elements we have to consider, it is proposed to any increase to no more than £4 a week for a typical 2 bedroom house .
Expressing your views
We are inviting you to give us your views on next year’s proposed rent increase. In particular we would like you to tell us if you think our proposals are fair and also do you think that the basis for setting rents is fair.