Annual rent increase
At the start of each year, we review your rent for the coming year. This is in line with guidance set by the Regulator of Social Housing Rent Standards.
We have approved a rent increase of 2.7% to be applied from Monday 7 April 2025
You can find more information on how the increase was agreed in the Housing Revenue Account Business Plan 2025/26 report that was approved at Full Council on Wednesday 5 February 2025.
Social rent
Most of our properties are social rent.
The Government sets out the way all councils and housing associations calculate social rent. This means that it’s worked out in the same way.
They want social rents for similar homes in the same area to compare to each other, regardless of who the landlord is. This is known as the ‘target rent’.
How rent is worked out
The target rent is worked out using the current national average rent of £121.20 per week. This is calculated by the:
- number of bedrooms in your property
- average wage in your area
- value of your home
We base 70% of your rent on the number of bedrooms in your home and the average South Yorkshire wage, and 30% on the value of your home.
Number of bedrooms
The more bedrooms you have, the higher your rent. The weightings we give based on this are:
- bedsit: 0.80
- 1 bed: 0.90
- 2 bed: 1.00
- 3 bed: 1.10
- 4 bed: 1.20
- 5 bed: 1.30
- 6 plus bed: 1.40
Average wages
The average wage in South Yorkshire is compared to other parts of the country and weighted accordingly. For our county this is 0.9453. If wages here are lower than in London, rents will also be lower.
Value of your home
Each year we value a number of homes that are typical of our housing stock and use these to value other properties similar in type and location. Homes are valued at January 1999 prices, when the national average property value was £49,750.
Example target rent
As an example, here’s how we would work out the target rent of a three-bedroom house with a value of £30,000.
| Steps | Calculation | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Step 1 | Take 70% of the national average rent of £121.20 | £84.44 |
| Step 2 | Multiply by South Yorkshire average earnings of 0.9453 (£84.84 x 0.9453) | £80.20 |
| Step 3 | Multiply by the bedroom weighting (£80.20 x 1.10) | £88.22 |
| Step 4 | Take 30% of the national average rent £121.20 (121.20 x 30) | £36.36 |
| Step 5 | Multiply by the capital value of your home £30,000 divided by £49,750 (the national average property value) | £0.6030 |
| Step 6 | Multiply £36.36 by 0.6030 to give the capital value | £21.93 |
| Step 7 | Add steps 3 and 6 together (£88.22 + £21.93) to give the target rent for 2025/26 | £110.15 (52 weeks) |
Appeal against your valuation
Learn how you can appeal against the valuation of your home.
Make an appeal against your valuation
New rent charges
Find out about changes to other charges, such as garage rents, burglar alarms and sheltered housing service.