Welcome to Housing Matters

With the cost of living rising on all fronts, it was with a very heavy heart in January that our Board agreed the 2022 rent increases. For most of our tenants, rents went up by 4.1% from April.

This was in line with current Government policy, which allows housing associations to make rent increases that are calculated by combining a ‘cost of living’ increase plus an additional 1%. The cost of living increase is based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which was 3.1% in September 2021.

Rent is our main source of income. We use it to meet all our responsibilities to tenants - to maintain their homes and invest in improvements, such as kitchens, bathrooms, new windows and heating systems. We need rental income to keep people safe in their homes and meet the challenges of ensuring building safety, especially after the lessons of the Grenfell Tower tragedy.

And of course we can't forget decarbonisation - we must achieve a net zero position on carbon by 2050, which is going to require a huge level of investment.

We don't look at our rent levels in isolation. We look at our costs, including complying with legislation and regulatory standards. Some of our materials costs are increasing by more than 10% this year - 6% more than the rent increase.

So in March we wrote to tenants explaining why we have been forced to increase rents, and encouraged them to speak to their rent officer if they are struggling to pay. I also recorded a video for tenants on our dedicated webpage, where we added direct links to the rent team, as well as advice and information for further support.

Despite the increased pressure on our resources, we have celebrated some notable achievements in recent months. For example, we are delighted to have been awarded the Sustainable Housing Label. This accreditation is increasingly sought after by ESG (environmental, sustainability, environment) investors.

We welcomed Caroline Gamble, Chief Executive Officer at the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) on a tour of our Canary Quay development in March. Among our staff, our apprentice Gracie Symons won a national plumbing prize, inspiring other young people to consider training in the trade.

Elsewhere our development programme continues apace, helping to tackle homelessness in our region. And we continue to listen to our tenants’ voices as we shape and improve our services – from our recent repairs survey to learning from the complaints reported to us.

Finally, as ever, I am grateful to all our hardworking staff for their ongoing support as we hopefully soon emerge from the pandemic of the last two years. Without them, we could not provide the homes and services so desperately needed in Norfolk and Suffolk.

I hope you enjoy reading this issue.