Issue - meetings

To consider the report from the head of housing & environment.

The Cabinet member for housing and community hub presented the report, recommending the adoption of the rent setting policy for all council-provided housing. The council had undertaken a number of initiatives to increase its managed housing stock. It was noted that as the council develops of its housing offer, it needs to have a consistent approach to how rents are set in line with regulation and best practice.

The following amendments were highlighted. It was noted that these would be corrected by the head of housing and environment in the final version of the policy.

Paragraph 8.3 of the policy should read CPI +1%, not CPI+1.5% as printed. Paragraph 14.3 of the policy will have the following line add at the end: “unless such an increase would take the rent above the applicable LHA rate, at which point the rent increase (and future increases) will be capped at the LHA rate.” Any other minor amendments will be handled by the Head of Service.

There was a major addition to the report and recommendations. Whilst the policy was written to be applicable to any year, it was important to formally record the percentage increase that will apply to rents from 01 April 2025. Therefore, the following addendum to the report was required as an additional paragraph to be added after paragraph 9 of the report.

The CPI figure for September 2024 was 1.7%. Therefore, in line with the requirements of legislation and policy, the maximum increase for applicable rents for 2025/26 was 2.7%, and this being the proposed figure. No rents will be set above the relevant local housing allowance (LHA) rate, and therefore if a 2.7% increase would take the rent above the LHA rate, this will be capped at the LHA rate. All tenants will be written to inform them of this increase at least 30 days before the rise applies.

The proposed additional recommendation was:

e) That Cabinet approves the increase of rents by up to 2.7% from 01 April 2025, and that delegated authority is given to the Head of Housing and Environment to calculate specific rents and ensure that all existing council tenants are made aware of this change.

Cabinet emphasised the importance of affordable rent to ensure housing security for residents, given that South Oxfordshire was one of the most expensive areas to live outside of London. Members stressed the importance of informing tenants of rent changes as early as possible.

RESOLVED:

a)    That Cabinet approves the adoption of the Joint Rent Setting Policy for Council provided Social Housing as outlined in Appendix 1.

b)    That Cabinet delegates authority to the Head of Housing and Environment to implement the policy and oversee rent and service charge setting within the prescribed framework.

c)  That Cabinet delegates authority to the Head of Housing and Environment, in conjunction with the Head of Legal and Cabinet member for Housing, to make operational and minor changes to the Policy as required.

d)    To allow constitutional changes to authorise the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 106