Rent change information
Your rent will be increasing from April 2023. You should have received, or will shortly receive, a letter through the post with more information.
How much will the increase be?
The majority of rents will be going up by 7% from 3 April 2023.
Why is there a rent increase?
Rent increases for shared owners are set out in your lease and for most of Paradigm’s shared owners this is set at the RPI (a measure of inflation) or the rate of RPI plus 0.5%.
Rent increases for social rented tenants are limited by a separate arrangement from that for shared owners. This year, the rental increases would have been 11.1% and so, to protect customers from the cost-of-living crisis the government applied a cap of 7%.
Although this did not apply to shared owners, we have voluntarily, along with most other housing associations, decided to cap the increase at 7% for shared owners as well.
How does Paradigm spend the money it gets from rent?
The money we collect in rent is used to make sure our homes are safe and sustainable and kept in good repair, as well as fulfilling our mission to build new homes to help more people.
As a not-for-profit organisation, we have had to strike a balance between limiting rent increases and maintaining our ability to deliver services and invest in new homes, at a time when we are also experiencing very high levels of inflation.
I claim Housing Benefit or Universal Credit, is there anything I need to do?
If you claim Universal Credit
You must report this change to the DWP by completing the ‘confirming your housing costs’ to do notification on your Universal Credit journal.
Please do this on or after 3 April 2023. Do not report this change beforehand as your claim may not be updated.
If you claim Housing Benefit
You must report this change to your local council by providing a copy of your rent increase letter to the Housing Benefit department.
If you live in the former Chiltern District Council area you will have to do this for the first time. There will be more details in your letter.
Will the cost of my service charge change too?
For most customers, your service charge amount will change in July and will also show an increase. You will get at least four weeks’ notice of the change.
Former One Housing and Guinness Partnership customers will receive their service charge notification at the same time as their rent letters in March.
What if I have difficulty paying my rent?
We know this is a difficult time for many people and you may be having financial problems. If you’re struggling to pay your rent, contact us immediately on 0300 303 1010.
It’s important to let us know as soon as possible to stop debts building up that will be difficult to repay.
We have a dedicated team of staff who can help. We can help with things like:
- Setting up payment plans, where appropriate
- Signposting you to support services
- Making sure you are claiming all the benefits you are entitled to.
You can find more information on the Support Hub on this website.
How do I calculate my monthly rent?
Take your weekly rent, divide it by 7, multiply by 365.25 and then divide by 12.