CONSULTATION on rent charges for East Ayrshire Council properties in 2023 -2024 - win a £ 50
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East Ayrshire Council
CONSULTATION
on rent charges for East Ayrshire
Council properties in 2023 -2024
o s u b m it a response
wh
ALL tenants e d in to a draw to
te r
will be en
w i n a £ 5 0
G i f tca rd !
EA> Consultation on rent charges for East Ayrshire Council properties
Dear Tenant,
I am writing to ask you to take part in this year’s rent consultation. Many of our
tenants are impacted by the cost of living crisis and we would encourage you to
access our cost of living information, advice and support pages on our website.
East Ayrshire Council consults annually with tenants, tenants’ and residents’ groups
and the East Ayrshire Federation of Tenants and Residents (EAF) on our proposals
relating to rent setting.
This year, the Rent Setting consultation
period will run from 12 December 2022 until
13 January 2023 inclusive. ALL tenants who
submit a response will be entered into a
draw to win a £50 EA Giftcard.
We will use the feedback to prepare a report
for a meeting of the Council’s Cabinet
Committee in February 2023 at which
Elected Members will decide the level of
rent increase for Council tenants in the year 2023/24.
We will then write to inform you what your new rent charge will be for 2023/24 at
least four weeks in advance of any changes that may occur.
Putting people at the heart of everything we do
Last year the Council set out two options for increasing rents and undertook a comprehensive consultation exercise
between December 2021 and January 2022.
We were delighted with the number of responses, our highest to date. Of the 311 received, 281 (90.4%) said they preferred
Option 1, which was to increase rents by 1.5%. As part of the rent setting process, a report, which contained details of the
consultation and feedback, was discussed and a proposal to increase rents by 1.5% was approved by Elected Members at
the February 2022 Cabinet meeting. 281 (90.4%) of consultees were happy with the level of consultation and information
that the Council provided over proposed rent increases.
This again has been a difficult year and it is essential that we get as many consultation responses as possible. We will be
asking tenants, tenants’ and residents’ groups and the EAF to help promote the consultation. We will also ask that as many
of our tenants as possible complete the online* survey or return by free post.
22023 - 2024 <
Proposals
This year, we are asking our tenants, tenants’ and residents’ associations to select their preferred option for 2023/24.
Paying your Rent / Universal Credit
The Council recognises that many tenants are still feeling the pressures caused by the economic situation and we are
therefore aiming to get the right balance between affordable rents and delivering the high quality housing services and
improvements to your homes. Paying rent is the most important part of a tenancy agreement and rent must be paid on
time and in full.
Find out more at: https://www.east-ayrshire.gov.uk/Housing/CouncilHousing/Paying-your-rent/Payingyourrent.aspx
Remember, you may be entitled to Housing Benefit/Universal Credit (UC). To find out more, please call 01563 554400 or
email benefits@east-ayrshire.gov.uk or contact your local Housing Office. If you are claiming UC, you may be entitled to
help with your rent payment. The rent payment is paid directly to you and not the Council and you must pay your rent to the
Council. Remember your UC claim is made online and paid in arrears. To make a claim, go to www.gov.uk/universal-credit
If you are experiencing financial difficulties or having problems making a claim online, then we can help.
Call us on 01563 503280 for more information.
Housing Teams Health & Social Care
Kilmarnock Central & North Housing Team Partnership
Civic Centre North, John Dickie Street,
KILMARNOCK KA1 1HW. Tel: 01563 554400 East Ayrshire Health & Social Care Partnership –
Email: housing@east-ayrshire.gov.uk Kilmarnock Office
The Johnnie Walker Bond, 15 Strand Street, KILMARNOCK
Irvine Valley & Kilmarnock South Housing Team KA1 1HU.Tel: 01563 554200.
Civic Centre North, John Dickie Street, Email: social.work@east-ayrshire.gov.uk
KILMARNOCK KA1 1HW. Tel: 01563 554400
Email: housing@east-ayrshire.gov.uk East Ayrshire Health & Social Care Partnership –
Cumnock Office
Cumnock & Doon Valley Housing Team Rothesay House, 1 Greenholm Road,
Rothesay House, 1 Greenholm Road, CUMNOCK KA18 1LH.Tel: 01290 427720.
CUMNOCK KA18 1LH. Tel: 01563 554400 Email: social.work@east-ayrshire.gov.uk
Email: housing@east-ayrshire.gov.uk
3> Consultation on rent charges for East Ayrshire Council properties
Budget headlines Our spending commitment for 2022/23 is shown below:
To pay for the significant housing investment required Housing Capital Investment Programme (£million)
and based on our plan to improve existing Council houses
Modernisation/Extensions £18.890m
and provide more new homes, we must borrow money
and make repayments over a number of years. Part of House Building £11.562m
the money you pay goes towards servicing these loan
HAMF (Demos & Disposal) £0.500m
charges so we can deliver the modernisation and new
build programmes. The Housing Capital Investment New Affordable Housing £0.000m
Programme sets out how much money the Council plans
Total £30.952m
to spend on improving existing Council houses and
providing new ones. The total budgeted income from housing rents for
2022/23 is £47,707,150.
Consultation on rent charges for East Ayrshire Council properties
We have outlined two options for rent increases over the next two pages and want to gather your opinions and feedback.
How to provide feedback
You can provide feedback using any of the following ways:
• The preferred option is to complete by using the online survey*
at https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/EAC2023-24 (or simply scan the code to the right)
*If you would like to respond via the online survey but don’t have internet access,
contact your local Housing Team to assist with this.
• Alternatively, complete the questionnaire on the back page and return it to:
Customer Liaison Team, FREEPOST RSEY-XHST-JHGL, Johnnie Walker Bond,
John Dickie Street, KILMARNOCK, KA1 1HW. (Please note, no stamp is required)
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
If you would like more information about our proposals set out in this leaflet, please use any of the methods below.
We will be able to deal with your enquiries until Friday 13 January 2023.
• Telephone: 01563 554400:
• Email: housing@east-ayrshire.gov.uk
• Write to: Housing Service, Civic Centre North, John Dickie Street, Kilmarnock, KA1 1HW
I would like to personally thank you for taking the time to take part in this consultation. Your views are important to us.
Yours sincerely
Blair Millar, Head of Housing & Communities
42023 - 2024 <
For every £1 spent in 2022/23 AVERAGE WEEKLY RENT LEVELS FOR 2022/23 (£)
Edinburgh 102.11
Aberdeenshire 88.97
Orkney 85.42
West Dunbartonshire 84.27
East Renfrewshire 83.23
East Dunbartonshire 82.55
Renfrewshire 82.19
West Lothian 80.70
Dundee 80.49
Aberdeen 79.34
South Ayrshire 79.33
n Bad debt provision £0.02
Scotland 78.88
n Other Expenditure £0.04
(Aids & Adaptations, Council Tax Voids, Fife 78.49
SP Protected Tenants Con, Council Helpline) North Ayrshire 78.45
n Rent loss due to empty properties £0.05
North Lanarkshire 78.45
n Debt Repayment, interest and expenses £0.20
Clackmannanshire 77.90
n Contribution to Housing
Improvement Programme £0.07 Midlothian 77.10
n Supervision & Management £0.25 East Ayrshire 76.51
n Repairs and Maintenance £0.37
South Lanarkshire 76.50
Highland 73.88
Average weekly rent levels Perth & Kinross 73.61
for 2022/23 (£) Stirling 73.61
You will see from the chart (right) that the rent levels in
Falkirk 73.31
East Ayrshire fair well when compared against our peers
and how our average weekly rent compares with other Angus 72.91
local authorities in Scotland.
East Lothian 72.50
(Source: 2022/23, Association of Local Authority Chief
Housing Officers, Average weekly rent levels – based on a Moray 64.67
typical weekly rent (52 weeks average for all stock)
5> Consultation on rent charges for East Ayrshire Council properties
Consultation on rent charges for East Ayrshire Council properties
We have outlined the two options for rent increases and want to gather your opinions and feedback.
Option 1 - Increase rents by 4%
A rent increase of 4%, an average of £3.32 per week over 48 weeks (£3.06 over 52 weeks).
This would cover the costs of all the proposals outlined in the Housing Asset Management Framework,
Housing Investment Programme and Strategic Housing Investment Plan. This option would require efficiency
savings of £0.875m to be implemented.
PROVIDE
78
NEW /
450
ENVELOPING
600
BATHROOM,
800
EFFICIENT
70
DOOR ENTRY
200
WINDOW
ACQUIRED **(RE ROOFING AND KITCHENS AND CENTRAL SYSTEMS AND DOOR
COUNCIL REPLACEMENT ELECTRICAL HEATING RENEWALS
HOUSES* ROOFING WHERE REWIRING
APPLICABLE)
Option 2 - Increase rents by 5%
A rent increase of 5%, an average of £4.15 per week over 48 weeks (£3.83 over 52 weeks).
The additional rent income of £0.477m would be utilised to provide additional capital investment on additional
energy efficiency measures to properties identified to receive external envelope enhancement as part of our
Whole House Approach during the 2023/24 and 2024/25 programme.
PROVIDE
78
NEW /
450
ENVELOPING
600
BATHROOM,
800
EFFICIENT
70
DOOR ENTRY
200
WINDOW
ACQUIRED **(RE ROOFING AND KITCHENS AND CENTRAL SYSTEMS AND DOOR
COUNCIL REPLACEMENT ELECTRICAL HEATING RENEWALS
HOUSES* ROOFING WHERE REWIRING
APPLICABLE)
* As part of the strategic housing investment plan 2023-2028 to deliver 689 new homes and is indicative.
** this includes new gutters, downpipes, window sill covers and cavity wall insulation (The replacement life cycles for each
product, as well as its condition, and the historical installation dates of previous programmes dictates the numbers of units
planned for replacement of over the next 5 years.)
6Rent Consultation 2023-24: We would be delighted if you could take a few moments to complete the online survey at: https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/EAC2023-24 Alternatively, please complete and post back the form below. 1. Please tick your preferred option: Option 1 - 4% Option 2 - 5% Do you have any comments on the options? 2. Do you think that the rent you pay is good value for money? Yes No If No, please tell us why? 3. Are you happy with the level of consultation and information that the Housing Service provides over proposed rent increases? Yes No If No, please tell us why? 4. Please tell us what we could do more of and what we could do better? 5. Your priorities: What would you like the Council to spend future rent increases on (please tick one box) Housing Improvements New Council Houses Environmental Improvements Other 6. Through Tenant Participation and Scrutiny we offer opportunities to be involved in decision making. If you wish to be involved please tick box below and complete contact details. Alternatively, tick no and submit contact details in Q7 for draw purposes. Yes No 7. Contact Details - complete for draw purposes Name Address Telephone (daytime) (evening) Email 8. Please use this space if you have any other comments specifically about the rent setting consultation General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) The personal information we have requested from you is required, this is for inclusion in tenant participation and Scrutiny and for draw purposes. Your information will be used for this purpose only and processed and held securely in terms of Data Protection Legislation. For further information on our legal basis for processing your information and your rights in terms of Data Protection Legislation, please visit our privacy statement. Thank you for taking the time to complete this survey. Please return this form to the freepost address below: FREEPOST RSEY-XHST-JHGL Customer Liaison Team, Civic Centre North John Dickie Street, Kilmarnock, KA1 1HW
> Consultation on rent charges for East Ayrshire Council properties
Fire safety top tips
Plan your escape route and make sure everyone knows
how to get out in a fire.
Get Out, Stay out and Call 999
• Make sure you have smoke alarms on every level of
your home
• Test smoke and heat alarms weekly & never remove
the batteries
• Take extra care in the kitchen and NEVER leave
cooking unattended
• DON’T cook if you have been drinking alcohol or
taking drugs
• Try to avoid using a traditional chip pan with oil,
use an electrical deep fat fryer instead
• Keep appliances and cables away from your cooker
Clean, Green and Vibrant is an innovative approach • Switch off and unplug all electrical appliances
which brings services from across the Council and the • Do not overload electrical sockets
local community together, ensuring they are a vital part • Never repair or re-join electrical cables with
of all housing improvement works. We want East Ayrshire insulation tape.
to be clean and green and our towns and villages to be • Make sure you use the correct wattage of bulbs in
vibrant. By working together we will ensure that service lamps and light fittings
delivery always meets, and where possible exceeds, the • Never cover lamps or light bulbs as they can quickly
needs of local people. catch fire
• Stub out all cigarettes and always empty ashtrays.
Fire safety • Make sure candles and tea lights are in holders,
away from curtains, cushions
Every Hour of Every Day there is a house fire in • Close all doors – this can keep your escape route free
Scotland – so, please make sure you are protected! from smoke and may stop a fire spreading.
We realise that many people
CARIN
T E D
may be struggling with the
increased cost of living at
Help and advice
E C
the moment and the impact
G
K
N
•
IN N this may be
D O
• C
having on
east-ayrshire.gov.uk/costofliving different aspects
of everyday life.
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