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A message from Wayne Gethings, Group Chief Executive

Wayne explains why your rent is increasing during 2024/25

My name is Wayne Gethings and I am the Chief Executive of The Wrekin Housing Group. From April, the rent for the majority of our customers will rise by 7.7%, I wanted to explain the reasons why.

Each year, we review our rents and carefully consider any changes. Following our recent rent review, we wanted to let you know that in April 2024 your rent will be changing.

The Government sets your rent based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for September 2023, plus 1%. The CPI is a commonly used measure of inflation which measures changes in the prices of goods. In September, the CPI was 6.7%. This means we’ll be increasing your rent by 7.7% from April 2024.

The rents on Shared Ownership properties are increased in accordance with your lease agreement.

We understand that any rent increase, particularly during the current cost of living crisis, will be unwelcomed, however, during the last 12 months the cost of managing, maintaining and improving homes has also increased. We have also seen rising costs associated with improving the energy efficiency of our homes.

We consulted with our Customer Committee, a group featuring Wrekin customers, when setting the rent increase. Although it was a difficult decision for us to make, they agreed the increase was necessary for us to continue making essential improvements to our existing homes and services.

Increasing your rent means we can continue to invest in making improvements to your homes and deliver the services you value the most. In making the decision, we have considered the average incomes in the areas where we work against the levels of rent to ensure they remain affordable.

Increasing the rent by the levels we have means that this year we can:

  • Invest £11.3m in improving your homes – including new kitchens, bathrooms, windows, heating etc.
  • Invest in upgrading the energy efficiency of your homes
  • Help customers who are struggling financially via our Money Matters service

We have to balance keeping rents as low as possible, whilst making sure we can fund essential services and continue to improve the quality, safety and environmental efficiency of your homes.

If you’re experiencing difficulties paying your rent or any other personal circumstances are making this difficult for you, please get in touch with your housing executive as soon as possible.