Cabinet Approve New Rent and Service Charge Policy
On Tuesday 3 November, Cabinet approved a new Rent and Service Charge Policy for Kirklees Homes and Neighbourhood properties.
What is the new policy?
The new policy formalises the current rent-setting process, where Cabinet receives a report asking it to approve the rent and service charge approach for the year ahead. It also fulfils the regulatory requirement to have a rent and service charge policy in place that complies with the rent standard.
What rents do Homes & Neighbourhoods charge?
We currently charge a lower, ‘social rent’, which helps keeps our homes affordable for tenants. Where appropriate we can choose to charge a slightly higher, ‘affordable rent’. It is our priority is to provide homes at social rent whenever possible, but the new policy gives the option to charge affordable rent if it is appropriate.
What happens next?
Now approved, the new policy acts as a guide for how all H&N rents are set and managed, including the process to follow when affordable rent may be charged instead of social rent. This process includes that any proposals must be discussed with the Executive Leadership Team and Portfolio Holder for housing before any decision is reached.
Now that the Rent and Service Charge Policy has been approved, it also gives the us the option to add the maximum tolerance in addition to the social rent, in schemes where there are known additional costs and complexities.
Councillor Philip James, Cabinet Member for Housing and Physical Communities, said:
“We charge one of the lowest average rents across the country, and while we want to keep our rents as fair as possible for our tenants, we also have a duty to keep our properties to a good standard and make sure that Homes & Neighbourhoods remains financially stable.
“This new Rent and Service Charge policy will not only protect our tenants through transparent decision-making and alignment with national rent rules but also support future investment in our homes.”