Changes to our social and affordable rents from April 2026

So that we can continue to invest in your homes, services and communities, we’ll be increasing rents across our social and affordable rented homes this year.

Published: 15/01/2026

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For social and affordable rented homes, the increase will be 4.8%. For intermediate market rent (IMR) homes (including former Crown Estate properties), rents will rise by 5%. Both will go up from April.   

How do we calculate these increases?

If you’re a shared ownership resident, rent increases will depend on the terms of your individual lease.  

Our service charges are calculated separately and are based on the cost of the services themselves.

What happens next  

From the end of January, you’ll get a letter confirming your new rent from April. (Our residents helped review it so it should be easy to understand.)

Your letter will show how your new rent has been worked out. If you also pay service charges, the letter will set out the costs for things like cleaning and looking after communal areas.    

What to do if you’re struggling  

We understand that times are tough for many people, and we’re here to help. 

Our teams can give advice on:

• benefits and grants you might be able to get  
• managing debt and budgeting
• training and job opportunities
• saving on energy and utility bills
• support for your physical and mental wellbeing      

How we calculate our increases  

We set rents in line with the government’s formula, which is based on the rate of inflation (the Consumer Price Index, or CPI) plus 1%. Since the CPI was 3.8% in September, rents for social and affordable rented homes will increase by 4.8%.  

Rents for intermediate market rent (IMR) homes on the other hand are linked to the Retail Price Index (RPI) plus 0.5%. Since it was 4.5% in September, they will rise by 5%.    

Why we need to raise rents  

As a not-for-profit organisation, we raise rents so we can keep covering the costs of looking after your homes and communities.  

We carry out over 1,000 repairs every day and have introduced a local repairs service, with one contractor managing most repairs and maintenance in each area.

Last year, we spent £200m on repairs and maintenance and an additional £231m on major improvements. Our repairs team completed 357,556 repairs.    

As the cost of delivering our services has gone up, we raise rents to keep up – but only up to the amount recommended by the government.