Gentoo confirms 2022 rent rise figure for Sunderland social housing properties - here's how much you can expect to pay

The housing association says tenants across Sunderland will see payments rise by 4.1% from April – an increase of around £3 to £4 per week on average.

The increase comes after five years of annual Government-imposed 1% rent decreases between 2015 and 2020.

Social landlords are currently allowed to increase their rent by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) plus 1%, each year.

As CPI in September last year was 3.1%, this means social housing providers like Gentoo can increase their rent by 4.1%.

Chief Executive Officer Nigel Wilson, said the firm was aware of the challenges facing tenants with inflation and rising heating bills but had no choice.

He said: “We are aware of the increased pressures on households due to the rising cost of living. The decision to increase our rent was a difficult one and the Gentoo Group Board debated this at length.

“As a social housing provider we must continue to deliver homes and services that our tenants rely on us for, and we must collect enough rent to pay for these services,” he said.

"This includes investing heavily in our existing properties, to modernise them and keep tenants safe. We are faced with increasing costs ourselves, including the legislative investment required as part of the forthcoming Building Safety Bill, and the huge cost of decarbonisation.

“We have been clear and honest with our tenants in our communication and have provided important information on the support we can provide for anyone that may have difficulty paying their rent alongside other household price increases.”

Gentoo has this week sent information to its tenants to let them know it will be making the change and explain the reasons why, as well as outlining the support it is providing to tenants who need help to pay their rent, including via its Money Matters Team.

Tenants in receipt of housing benefit will have most of their rent covered via state support.

The Group has also announced it will spend £66million investing in, repairing and maintaining its existing homes in the next year and £35million on building new affordable homes.

In addition to the rent increase, some tenants will also see their service charges increase. Gentoo says the rise is capped at £5 per week.

Tenants will receive their standard rent notification letter at the beginning of March, which will set out exactly what their new rent and service charge payments will be from April 2022.

If tenants are worried or need help paying their rent, they can contact Gentoo’s dedicated Money Matters Team for advice or support by emailing [email protected]; sending an SMS text: Text ‘money’, followed by your name to 07860 022 026 (text charged at your network’s standard rate) or by phone on 0300 123 2004. Calls to 0300 numbers will cost the same as calls to a landline number and will be included as part of any inclusive call minutes.

If tenants have questions or comments about the rent increase, they can get in touch with Gentoo by emailing: [email protected]

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