Proposed Rent Increase April 2026
At their next meeting in February our Board will decide what increase to apply to rents for the year starting April 2026.
Keeping rents fair and affordable is a key priority for South Lakes Housing and every year we review the rent and service charges you pay for your home for the following year.
We continue to benchmark our rents and our social rents are approximately 60-70 % of local market rents and our affordable rents 80%.
How Rents are Set
As a social landlord, we follow the Regulator of Social Housing’s framework for rent setting, and we review our rents based on Government rules. Based on these rules, we are proposing to increase rents by 4.8% for the majority of our customers who pay a social or affordable rent and this is what will be recommended to our Board. We think this is the minimum required to keep the business running and meet customers’ priorities.
What we spend our income on
As a not-for-profit, community benefit housing association, the money we collect from rents is re-invested in maintaining and improving our current homes, keeping customers safe and providing much needed new affordable housing in our local communities.
Earnings and Benefits increases in April 2026
The Government has confirmed that from April benefits will increase in line with inflation, and that the National (Minimum) Wage and universal credit standard allowances and pensions will increase above inflation. If you receive Housing Benefit, Universal Credit or another form of benefit to pay your rent, these payments will rise from April 2026 onwards.
Please contact us if you are worried about paying your rent and would like to speak to us.
If you need help with your finances in general, our Income Team is always here to listen, help and support you.
Our helpful experienced team is here for all our customers, whatever their circumstances. Whether you are looking for practical support, a little guidance, or you just want to chat things through. We are non–judgemental – we want to help you get to where you want to be.
You can also find out more information about help and support with managing your finances here.
