Rent increases

From 3 April 2023, the cost of renting a home from us will increase by either 7% or 10%, depending on the type of home you live in.

If you are an Ongo tenant, you will receive a letter by the end of February, confirming the increase that applies to you and your home.

The first and most significant reason for this increase is the high level of inflation we are all experiencing, which is currently at around 10.1%. This means the cost of running our organisation and delivering core services has increased considerably. We must generate enough income to remain viable and continue to operate.

We completely understand and appreciate that the cost of living is affecting you personally too. We’re seeing increased costs in most areas of our lives, and we know this is extremely difficult to manage. We do have lots of support available for this, from grants to financial support and budgeting advice, so please get in touch with us, we can help.

We have a specially trained, friendly and understanding team to offer guidance and advice. We can help to access benefits and grants you may be eligible for, help with budgeting, debt and money advice, and put you in touch with support you may need.

Or, you may prefer to take some independent advice from the Citizens Advice Bureau (0800 144 8848, www.citizensadvice.org.uk) or National Debtline (0808 808 4000, www.nationaldebtline.org).

The rent increases we have put in place are still below inflation level, and we will be looking to work more efficiently to reduce our costs and generate further income to balance this, and bridge the gap between the rent increase and level of inflation. The information below explains more on why we have had to increase the cost of rent:

• Our running costs have increased, meaning to be able to continue to operate and offer all of our services – including repairs & maintenance and housing management, we need more income
• Materials have also increased in cost, which has again had a knock on effect to us and means to be able to continue to be able to offer you our services
• We’re continuing to invest more than ever on safety and compliance to ensure you feel safe and secure in your home

With this increase, we still remain more affordable than privately renting a home. On average it costs around £163.75 per week for a three-bedroom, private rent home in the Scunthorpe area. By comparison our rent would amount to £106.66 for a social rent home (excluding service charges) and £136.69 for a three-bedroom affordable home, making our options £57 (social) and £27 (affordable) cheaper than the private sector.

This decision was made after consulting with Community Voice (our tenant panel) and presenting their feedback to our Board.

Everyone will receive a letter in the post by the end of February, with details about the change in rent costs and any additional service charges for the year ahead.

Take a look at some handy Q&A’s on this page.