Customers who pay rent only

This letter was delivered to all of customers who only pay rent to One Manchester. 

Information about your weekly rent payment

Dear XXXX, 

We’re writing to let you know that after a full review of our rent charges, we’ve taken the difficult decision to increase your rent. From 1 April 2024, we’ll be increasing your total weekly rent payment to £XXXXX p/ week

However, as this year has 53 weeks instead of 52, we’ve taken the decision to provide you with an extra rent free week. This means you’ll be charged 50 weeks across a 53 week year. The additional rent-free week begins 31 March 2025. You can find more details in this letter.

We know that any rise in outgoings can cause concern, so below you can find details of what help is available around paying your rent if you need it. You can also find out why these charges are increasing.

Why we’re raising your rent 

We always try to keep our rents as affordable as possible, but the costs of maintaining and repairing your homes, including labour and materials has significantly risen, due to high inflation rates and increased energy and fuel costs.

As a not-for-profit organisation, any money we make goes directly back into your homes. This rent increase means we can continue providing and improving our services to you. It means we can also meet the increasing costs of maintaining your homes and continue to proactively tackle any issues of damp and mould.  

How will my rent be spent? 

During 2024-2025, we will be prioritising:  

  • Continuing our investment work, repairing, and enhancing your homes, including projects to replace kitchens, bathrooms, windows, and doors. This will also include improving the exterior of your homes such as replacing fencing.
  • Ensuring your home is safe by completing all necessary routine safety checks, including gas, electrical, and fire safety inspections.
  • Making sure your homes are safe and healthy places to live. We’ll be investing a further £4.7m into our Healthy Homes programme to address any issues of damp, mould, and condensation in your home. We continue to encourage all customers who have damp and mould in their home to contact us so that we can deal with the issue swiftly.
  • Using your feedback from the Big Listen events to improve the customer experience you receive and help shape our repairs service to make it right for you. 
  • Investing in upgrading the energy efficiency of homes to help reduce energy bills.
  • Continuing to invest in our Thrive Fund to support customers who may need additional support to purchase everyday items.

What do I do if I have damp, mould or condensation?

Please contact our Healthy Homes team or 0330 355 1000 and a member of the team will be in touch to arrange a survey. The survey will enable us to identify the root cause of the problem and arrange all repairs to resolve the issue.

What if I can’t afford the increase?

We know the past year has been difficult for many of you and is likely to continue to be in the months ahead. We remain committed to doing the very best we can for all our customers with the resources we have available.

If you’re having money problems, please speak to us – we’ve got trained teams on hand to help you. You can access support by contacting our Financial Inclusion team, calling us at 0330 355 1000 and choosing option 2, or by completing our contact us form.

What cost of living support is available? 

We’d also like to remind you of the support available through our Thrive Fund. The fund is here to support you in combating the increased cost of living, and it can be used to support customers who may need additional support purchase things such as furniture, kitchen appliances, school uniforms, children’s coats, and other everyday items.

All the information you need to apply for support through the Thrive Fund can be found on our website on our money advice page.

How has my new rent been calculated?

Your new rent has been calculated by taking into account:

  • The details in your tenancy agreement.
  • The rent increase formula set by legislation, which states that rent increases should be based on the Consumer Price Index (inflation) in September 2023, which was 6.7%, plus 1%. This means that your weekly rent will increase by 7.7%.

What is the Consumer Price Index?

  • The Consumer Price Index (CPI) – is a figure used to measure inflation. It reflects how much the price of common goods and services changes over time across the UK.
  • CPI is higher than last year because the cost of goods and services continued to increase.

When are my rent-free weeks? 

Some of you may have rent-free weeks set out in your tenancy agreement. If you do they will take place on the following weeks:

  • The week beginning 1 April 2024 is a rent-free week, so these changes won’t begin until the week commencing 8 April 2023.
  • The week beginning 23 December 2024 is also a rent-free week and no rent will be charged then.
  • The week beginning 31 March 2025 is also a rent-free week and no rent will be charged then.
  • Please remember, if your account is in arrears, you still need to make a payment, during the rent-free weeks. 

IMPORTANT – What do I need to do now?

Universal Credit 

If you receive the housing element of Universal Credit, you need to let the Department of Works and Pension (DWP) know about the increase in your total weekly payment by updating your Journal on the day of the increase Monday 1 April 2024.

Don’t update your Journal before this date because the DWP will not recalculate your entitlement with your new rent amount.

Standing orders and online banking

If you pay your rent by a standing order or via online banking, please change the amount that has been set up to the new rent amount set out in this letter.

Direct Debit

If you pay your rent by Direct Debit, don’t worry we’ll make the changes for you. You’ll also receive a letter from Allpay to confirm your Direct Debit has been updated. Don’t forget to check this letter to make sure everything is set up right. If you don’t get a letter or want us to double-check your Direct Debit payment we’ll be happy to help just email the team

Housing Benefit

If you currently receive Housing Benefit directly into your rent account, the total weekly charge will be updated automatically. We’ll let your local authority benefits department know of the change and they’ll update your Housing Benefit entitlement.

If your Housing Benefit gets paid into your bank account, please make sure you tell your benefits department about the change as soon as possible. Making sure you tell them as soon as possible will avoid any underpayments being made which could lead to arrears on your rent account.

This letter and the additional documents are sent to you by One Manchester Limited of Lovell House, 6 Archway, Hulme, Manchester M15 5RN

What if I need help?

We’re here to help – If you’ve got any questions or concerns about paying your rent, please get in touch as soon as possible by using the “Contact Us” form on our website or by calling us on 0330 355 1000 a colleague from our Customer Contact centre will be happy to help.

We’ve got lots of helpful information on our Money Help pages on our website, or our Financial Inclusion team are always on hand to help when you need them, just call 0330 355 1000.

Alternatively, you can contact the following organisations for support:

•    Citizens Advice: 03444 111 444
•    Shelter: 03301 755 121

If you’d like to see all of your rent payments and your current account balance, it’s really quick and easy to view them on our Customer Portal.  If you’ve not got an account yet, just visit our website and click ‘register’. It’s easy to get set up, all you need is your tenancy reference number, National Insurance number and email address.

Many thanks,

Nicole Kershaw Chief Executive

 

XXXX = Please review your letter for information specific to your tenancy 

 

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