Rent and service charges 2025-2026

17 February 2025

This week we’ll be writing to you to confirm changes to your rent and/or service charges that will apply from 1 April.

Your letter will give you an exact figure - for rental customers there will be a rent increase of 2.7% and for shared owners it’s 3.2%.

We use rental income to help run bpha, from providing services to maintaining existing homes and building new ones – always focussing on giving you value for money. The rapid cost increases we’ve seen in recent years have slowed down, which has resulted in a lower rental increase than last year. However, costs remain high, leading to the decision to increase rent in line with the rent regulatory limit. You can see how each pound is spent here

How is rent set

The government uses a set formula for social housing rents each year, which is called the Rent Standard. It takes into consideration the size, location and relative value of the property. The rent is set by using the Consumer Price Index (CPI) from the previous September (1.7%) plus 1%.

The CPI is a specific measurement of inflation – it measures the average change in prices of goods and services bought by most households in the UK.

The government has put forward a plan to fix the annual rent increase at CPI plus 1% for a period of five years. This will give you certainty around what your rent will be, and help bpha to plan – we’ll keep you updated on this proposal as it develops.

Shared ownership rents are set in line with your lease agreement. For most customers, this is set using the Retail Price Index (RPI) from the previous September (2.7%) plus 0.5%. RPI is similar to CPI but also includes housing-related costs.

Service charges

A service charge is a payment towards the cost of providing and maintaining communal areas and services, where applicable. The amount charged is the total cost of providing the service, divided by the number of people who receive the service. If you pay service charges, these are set separately and will be confirmed in your letter.

Money Advice

We know that any increase in costs might be worrying. Our Money Advice Team provides free and impartial help to anyone looking to improve their financial situation.

Find out more

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