We understand that rising costs are causing a lot of worry and having your rent increased may be adding to that. We want to reassure you that our decision to increase rents is based on us sustaining an income so that we are able to repair and maintain homes to ensure that they are safe and of a good quality, continue to provide vital services and support for tenants and also continue to improve the energy efficiency of homes to reduce bills and work towards zero-carbon targets.
The rent you pay goes directly back into these services and initiatives and whilst we try to keep rents as affordable as possible, we have to balance this with the rising costs of repairing and maintaining homes and the cost of providing other essential goods and services.
The 2025/26 rent increase has been calculated in line with government policy, following an inflation linked Government formula that makes sure rent levels are capped and remain at an affordable level.
Like all social housing providers, we follow the Government’s guidelines on rent setting. We work it out by taking the previous September’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) rate, which was 1.7% this year and add 1% to it. This means we’ll be increasing your rent by 2.7% from April 2025.
Stockport Council rents remain one of the lowest in Greater Manchester (GM). Out of a sample of 118 housing providers across different GM Boroughs, Stockport Council had the 10th lowest rents.
Your tenancy agreement gives more information about your Service Charges and what you are being charged for. If you have a query about any of these services, you can speak to your Housing Officer. Alternatively, you can call the rents team on 0161 217 6016 option 3 and they can take the details and pass the query on to the Housing team on your behalf.
From April 2025 we are introducing 2 new Service Charges, Lift Maintenance and Building Safety and Maintenance. If you are being charged for these services you were sent a letter on 6th January 2025 informing you of the proposed new charges and we consulted with customers in the weeks following, listening to any feedback and providing more information where requested.
Further information about the New Service Charges can be found here.
United Utilities set water charges each year and we have no involvement in this process. We are instructed on what charge to apply to each property and this is passed on to you as the tenant.
Over the next 5 years United Utilities will be undertaking the largest investment in water and wastewater services in the North West in 100 years and the scale of this investment means that they do need to increase water bills and doing so will ensure they meet the demands of the growing population, are resilient to climate change and can address their key priorities. More information about the water bills increase and United Utilities investment plans can be found here Greater Manchester | United Utilities
We won’t be able to change what you need to pay for your rent and service charges. However, we understand times are tough and we’re doing everything we can to support our customers during this period:
Our dedicated, expert Money Advice team can support you if you’re having difficulties. They will complete a full financial assessment and provide advice and support for income maximisation, reducing outgoings where possible and can support with a hardship fund payment where appropriate. You can contact them Monday to Friday between 8.30am and 5pm on 0161 217 6016, option 3, or email them at [email protected].
If you pay by Direct Debit in most cases the payments will have been calculated so that when your last payment is made in March 2025 you will not have any rent arrears. It’s possible that your account may go into arrears during the year depending on when your payments are due.
Any letters received show the balance on your account at the date of printing, so if you have made any payments since this date these will not be reflective. Your method of payment will also affect when the payment is showing on your account. Payments made at a Post Office or Pay Point outlet take 3 working days to reach your account, and all other methods should be showing the next working day.
It depends…..If you pay by Direct Debit the account is unlikely to actually be in true credit. Your payments will have been calculated so that when your last payment is made in March 2025 you will have a zero balance. It’s possible that your account may look as though it is in credit during the year dependent on when your payments are due.
If you do not pay by Direct Debit you are required to have credit on your account to ensure you are paying in advance in line with your tenancy agreement and the amount will depend on the frequency of your payments for example weekly payers a week in advance, monthly a month etc.
If the credit is the result of a payment from Universal Credit or Housing Benefit in most cases we will not be able to issue a refund to you.
You don’t need to do anything! You will receive another letter in the next couple of weeks which tells you what your housing benefit entitlement will be from April 2025.
No, you don’t need to do anything if you pay by Direct Debit. Your new payments from April will be calculated automatically and you will receive a further letter before the end of March telling you what your payments will be.
Yes, you will need to update Universal Credit with your new Housing Costs information. You will need to keep checking your online claim on or after 7th April 2025 as you will be set a ‘to-do’ by the DWP to update the ‘Where you Live and What it Costs’ section of your claim.
We will be sending some information out about your new charges to help you with this task around the time you will be asked to update your claim. Please make sure we have your correct email address so that we can get this information to you. If you need to update your claim before you receive anything from us, you can contact us Monday to Friday 8.30am until 5.00pm on 0161 217 6016 option 3.
There is also a step by step guide to updating your claim on our website here.
