Your rent is due every Monday and must be paid weekly, fortnightly or monthly, in advance.
We will review your rent each year. If it goes up, we’ll write to you at least 4 weeks in advance of the increase.
Any rent increases usually start in the first week of April.
We are proposing to increase the rents for our council homes by 7.7% from Monday 1 April 2024 in line with the national rent policy.
This means that, if agreed, the average council rent would increase by £7.91 a week from £115.68 to £123.59.
This year’s planned increase follows the usual national policy of increasing rents by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) as of September plus 1%. In September 2023 the CPI was 6.7%.
The majority of tenants’ service charges will also increase in line with September’s CPI figure.
Our rents would still remain among the lowest in London, but it would mean we can continue to invest in our homes and deliver the services important to our residents.
We are asking anyone renting one of our homes for their views on the proposals, so councillors can take them into account when they make their final decision on rents and service charges in January.
Why we're proposing these increasesProposing any increases in rent is not something we do lightly, especially at a time when we know there is a lot of pressure on household budgets. However, like our residents, we are facing huge increases in costs and we need this increase to help with the rising costs of:
We use your rent to:
We work out your rent using a formula set by the government. All councils and registered social landlords use this formula. When working out your rent we take into account the:
On 1 April 2021 we stopped charging for water and wastewater services on behalf of Thames Water. This means that you are now responsible for making monthly or annual payments directly to Thames Water instead of paying it weekly as part of your rent.
To find more information on the support available with water charges, visit Help with the rising cost of living – Bills and energy.
Support to help you manage your rent paymentsWe recognise that many household budgets are under strain due to the cost of living crisis.
If you have any views on the proposed rent increase send them to us by Friday 22 December.
We offer a range of help and financial advice to all our residents. If you are facing debt or rent arrears, speak to us as soon as possible and avoid approaching a loan shark or taking payday loans for help.
You can contact us on 020 8356 3100.
The earlier you speak to us, the more we can help. Our staff have experience in helping residents with managing their rent accounts and have received training to provide debt and welfare benefit advice.
We have also developed a comprehensive Help with the cost of living guide outlining the wide range of help and support available during the cost of living crisis. It includes advice on how to contact our Money Hub team who can help you access any benefits you may be missing out on.
Have your say on the proposed rent increasesTo have your say on the proposed rent increases contact us by Friday 22 December. You can contact us by email at housing.rents@hackney.gov.uk or by writing to:
Hackney Service Centre
1 Hillman Street
You must title any correspondence with ‘Rent increase proposal’.
Councillors will take all comments received into consideration when they make the final decision on levels of rents from April 2024.
Call 020 8356 3100 to find out your rent account balance.
Payments might take a while to reach your rent account, depending on your method of payment. For example, bank standing order, Post Office and Paypoint payments can take up to 5 working days to appear in your rent account.
If you have made a payment and you are concerned that you can’t see the payment in your rent account statement, you can email us at housing.rents@hackney.gov.uk. or call us on 0208 356 3100. We’ll need the following information to help us locate the payment:
If you have overpaid your rent, you can apply for a refund. Your account will be checked to make sure the credit balance is correct and that you don’t owe any other debts to the Council. If any debts are owed, they will be paid before any refund is agreed.
Refunds can be paid by BACS transfer directly into your bank account or by cheque.
Download and complete the refund application form:
Send completed forms by:
You must clear your rent account at the end of your tenancy. If you are no longer a council tenant but still owe arrears, we will chase this debt.