Rent Increase Consultation Results 2023
Consultation Process
1,327 tenants were consulted, 1,130 (85%) via e-mail and 197 (15%) via Royal Mail. The Consultation Form went live on 1 January 2023, and letters and e-mails were sent once the office reopened.
In addition to the mailing, a first reminder was sent via Beeline to all Platinum non-responders on 24 January 2023, and a final reminder was sent via Outlook to Platinum non-responders on 27 January 2023. The consultation was included in the January e-Talk newsletter in late January 2023, a reminder to take part was posted on social media, and a banner reminding tenants to take part was displayed on all My Home accounts for the first half of the consultation period (this displayed for a full month for the Platinum tenants). The link to the consultation in each tenant’s My Home account was a highlighted red button. The monthly ‘thank you’ message all paper-free tenants receive when they pay their rent also included a link to the consultation.
Responding to this consultation is a requirement for receiving a Platinum Key Tenant Rent Discount.
As part of the Three Year Rent Deal, the Rent Increase had been agreed in principle as inflation only, but due to the very high rate of inflation in November 2022, this was reviewed, and an increase of inflation minus 8%, (an increase of 6%), was consulted on instead.
Tenants were also asked about their Key Tenant Status, and the required question for the Annual Return on the Charter (ARC) “Taking into account the accommodation and services ELHA provides, do you think that the rent for your home represents good or poor value for money?”, as well as whether or not they agreed with the 6% increase.
Consultation Responses
443 (33.4%) tenants responded, an increase from 25.9% in 2021. Only 14 offline tenants returned a paper form, although this is still an increase from 9 last year. Of note is the fact that these numbers mean that 7.1% of print tenants took part - this is around the same level of return received for the Rent Increase Consultation prior to the introduction of the Key Tenant Scheme.
Results
Taking into account the accommodation and services ELHA provides, do you think that the rent for your home represents good or poor value for money? Is it:
| Number | Percentage of total | |
|---|---|---|
| Very good | 133 | 30% |
| Fairly good | 173 | 39% |
| Neither good nor poor | 83 | 19% |
| Fairly poor | 36 | 8% |
| Very poor | 15 | 3% |
| Blank | 3 | 1% |
Do you agree with our proposal of inflation minus 8% for the 2023 Rent Increase?
| Number | Percentage of total | |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | 305 | 69% |
| No | 125 | 28% |
| Blank | 13 | 3% |
Taking into account the accommodation and services ELHA provides, do you think that the rent for your home represents good or poor value for money? Is it:
Do you agree with our proposal of inflation minus 8% for the 2023 Rent Increase?
General Trends over the Last Five Years
Number / Percentage of Responders
| 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Responders | 200 | 318 | 379 | 345 | 443 |
| Percentage of Total Tenants | 15.3% | 24.3% | 28.5% | 25.9% | 33.4% |
Taking into account the accommodation and services ELHA provides, do you think that the rent for your property represents good or poor value for money?
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Very good | 27.0% | 29.9% | 31.1% | 30.1% | 30.0% |
| Fairly good | 45.0% | 37.7% | 40.9% | 40.3% | 39.00% |
| Neither good nor poor | 17.0% | 20.4% | 18.5% | 20.3% | 18.7% |
| Fairly poor | 5.5% | 8.2% | 6.6% | 6.4% | 8.1% |
| Very poor | 5.0% | 3.1% | 2.6% | 2.9% | 3.4% |
Tenant Comments
Where tenants had made additional comments and/or asked questions or requested clarification on points raised in the consultation or general tenancy issues, all were responded to in line with the timescales detailed in the Customer Service Charter. Where there was any delay in responding, an apology was sent.