Rent Rise Vote Now Open – Have Your Say!*

Are you an Angus Council tenant? We need your views on what the rent increase should be in 2020/21 and how your rent money should be spent.

The three options outlined below will continue to keep your rent amongst the lowest in Scotland.

Why are we proposing to increase the rent? 

We need to make sure the rent money we receive is enough to pay for existing services, such as repairs, but also to pay for larger improvements needed for tenants’ homes and to help build new homes.

Rent increases allow us to invest in our homes to continue to meet the Scottish Housing Quality Standard. and to meet the Energy Efficiency Standard for Social Housing by 2020.

The rent rise is partly based on the inflation measure of CPI (Consumer Price Index), as well as an additional set percentage of 1% which has been agreed between us and the Tenant Rent Setting Group. CPI+1% is the minimum rent increase required to allow us to deliver our current plans and manage inflationary cost rises. We need to increase the rent at least by inflation because that’s what it costs us to deliver existing services. If we were to increase by more than 1% we could also increase investment in tenant homes.

How we decide on the Increase

We’re carrying out a consultation to help tenants consider the rent increase options and clearly see how the rent money will be spent.

The results of this survey will be presented at the Communities Committee in February 2020, where the final decision on a rent increase for 2020/21 will be made.

Rent Increase – the options

The Tenant Rent Setting Group has agreed three options which the members feel will bring benefits to tenants while keeping rents affordable.

The three options are:

 

	Option 1 – Recommended by the Rent Setting Group	Option 2	Option 3
Rent Level	3.1%	3.2%	3.3%
Capital spend (this is money invested to buy or upgrade fixed, physical, non-consumable assets, such as buildings and equipment)	£18 million capital spend over the year	Additional £340,000 capital to spend in addition to Option 1	Additional £680,000 capital to spend in addition to Option 1
How many new builds?	70 new homes over the year	70 new homes – any additional funds will be used to improve existing stock	70 new homes – any additional funds will be used to improve existing stock
What stock improvements can tenants expect?	450 Gas & Electric Heating installations; 600 properties receiving external wall insulation & energy efficiency measures; 700 bathrooms.	In addition to planned improvements listed in Option 1, for example: 20 Gas Heating installation (including loft insulation); 20 Electric Heating installations (including loft insulation); 10 External Wall Insulation; 11 Window & Door Replacements.	In addition to planned improvements listed in Option 1, for example: 40 Gas Heating installation (including loft insulation); 40 Electric Heating installations (including loft insulation); 20 External Wall Insulation; 22 Window & Door Replacements.

The tenant representatives recommend that tenants choose Option 1 (the lowest option), which would mean a rent rise of 3.1 %. This option is the minimum rise needed to deliver the current Business Plan. It, along with Scottish Government grant funding, would enable us to build 70 new homes in 2020-21, as well as these improvements to existing stock: 450 Gas & Electric Heating installations, 600 properties receiving external wall insulation & energy efficiency measures, 700 bathrooms.

The graph below shows the average weekly rents of Angus Council over the past five years compared to other neighbouring local authorities (figures from the Scottish Housing Regulator).

How a rent increase of 3.1% would affect average Angus Council weekly rents

	Average weekly rent 2018/19	Average weekly rent 2019/20	Average weekly rent 2020/21
Bedsit	£53.25	£55.11	£56.82
1 Bedroom	£61.79	£63.95	£65.94
2 Bedrooms	£69.48	£71.91	£74.14
3 Bedrooms	£78.56	£81.31	£83.83
4+ bedrooms	£96.60	£99.98	£103.08
Angus Average	£67.99	£70.37	£72.55

 

To have your say on the rent options,

please complete the survey online by 30 September*.

*Please note this consultation is open to current Angus Council tenants only

 

Advertisement

Meet the Brechin and Montrose Communities Team

Here’s a short film about the work of the Brechin and Montrose Communities Team.

If you want to get involved, the film shows some ways you can.

Rent Increase Letters Now Out!

Photo by rawpixel.com on Pexels.com

If you are an Angus Council tenant, including garages and garage sites, you should have received your annual rent increase letter by now. All rent increases were agreed at Communities Committee in February 2019.

If you haven’t received your rent notification, please let us know by emailing HousingQPP@angus.gov.uk or call us on ACCESSLine 03452 777 778.

Calling Residents of West Carnoustie – Get Involved with the Community Appraisal!

Our Communities Team is speaking to residents about setting up a residents’ group in  West Carnoustie (see the map below) and in this area.

Our Communities Officer, Mark Johnston, said:

There has been some interest shown in having a residents group in the West Carnoustie area to consider issues faced by residents and improve services available to people in the community.

We will support this and believe it is important that local people are able to have their say about the area where they live and the services provided.

Officers from the Carnoustie Locality Team (wearing Angus Council ID badges) will be in the area until Friday 14^tDecember with a short survey to get local views.

They will be using the ‘Place Standard’ questionnaire which is designed to help us all identify good and not so good areas and focus resources where they are needed most.

If our staff members do not manage to call when you are in or if you would prefer to complete the questionnaire online in your own time please go to Place Standard online questionnaire .The data is automatically made anonymous so we only get your views and no identifying data is stored.

If you do not want us to come to your door or if you would like to arrange a time to meet with us or if you are interested in being part of a residents group or attending a meeting please let us know your contact details. All information gathered will treated confidentially, used solely for the purpose of the community consultation and will not be shared with any third parties.

Please contact us through the Communities Office  – Telephone: 01241 803598 or Email: cldcarnoustie@angus.gov.uk

Following the completion of the survey we will be holding a feedback event to which interested people will be invited.  We will share the anonymised results of the survey with residents and, if appropriate, we will be able to give a community-based group support and advice to help them take any issues forward.

Tenancy Update – Message for Angus Council Tenants

We recently contacted all our tenants by letter or email to advise about the changes to Scottish Secure Tenancy rights made by the Housing (Scotland) Act 2014.

Succession and assignation rules will change in April 2019, so tenants need to make sure their household details are up to date now.

Tenants need to tell us if:

• anyone has moved into their household but they haven’t yet told us
• anyone has moved out of their home
• anyone will be moving in or out of their home in the future

The main message is that if a tenant’s household has changed, they need to let us know to protect their tenancy, and the tenancy rights of other members of the household

Tenants can report any tenancy changes by using our Report a tenancy change online form.

You can view the message we sent to our tenants in this document.

#ScottishHousingDay – Calling All Tenants – Tenant Participation Strategy – Please Give Your Feedback

We are starting to review our tenant participation strategy to produce a new one for 2019 – 2021. We would like as many tenants as possible to give us feedback on our current strategy.

Please tell us what you think is good about the current strategy and if there’s anything you don’t want to see again. This will be your strategy so please feel free to make comments about what you would like to see in it.

We will be discussing the current strategy with our Tenant Steering Group. If you want to become involved in this group please contact TenantParticipation@angus.gov.uk.

If you’d prefer not to attend the group, please comment by

• using our blog – hit the Comment button
• email Angela Quirie at HousingQPP@angus.gov.uk
• send in your comments to any local ACCESS office or Library, or
• by post to Angela Quirie, Angus House, Sylvie Way, Forfar, DD8 1AN.

We hope to get as much feedback as possible by 30 November 2018. We will then pull together all the comments and prepare a new draft strategy. Once again, the draft strategy will be posted on our blog and other social media platforms to give as many tenants the opportunity to give their comments.

If you want to be part of a proof reading group, please contact TenantParticipation@angus.gov.uk and we will organise with you the best way for you to participate. Again, this can either by social media, email or post or in a meeting setting.

 

Please get involved in shaping the way we engage with you as our tenants. Tenant Participation is not all about coming to meetings, it can mean getting involved in the conversation by whatever way suits you best.

Tenant participation – Make your voice heard

 

We always want hear from as many of our tenants as possible to ensure we are delivering the services they need, as well as properties they are proud to call home.

In this the Year of Young People, we particularly want to engage with our young tenants who are under 25–years-old. Their voices are under-represented when it comes to tenant participation.

We are engaging with all our tenants in different ways, by the day-to-day contacts with our housing officers, by our surveys that cover repairs and tenant satisfaction, as well as news on our website, Twitter and Facebook pages, and this Blog.

Our Tenants Steering Group plays a main role in the decisions we take for the future. Indeed in 2017, the group agreed that rents should be increased to ensure continued investment in existing and new affordable housing. They proposed three options which went out to tenant consultation and then approval of the Communities Committee.

Scrutineers (tenant representatives)  provide important feedback about the service that we and our contractors provide and tell us when we get it wrong, as well as when we get it right. The same is true of tenant and resident groups supported by our Pride in Place Communities Officers.

Over the past year, our own repairs satisfaction survey has directly involved 2400 of our customers and our Housing blog has had more than 2000 visitors since the start of the year. It’s not just there to read, you can feedback to us directly too.

We want to hear from you. What you tell us can help to inform what we do, from wider policy and procurement to the straightforward needs of the individual.

Our most recent full customer satisfaction survey found that –

 82.65% of our tenants were satisfied with the overall service we provided.

79.55% felt we were good at keeping them informed about services and decisions.

62.11% were satisfied with opportunities given to participate in our decision making processes.

89.17% were satisfied with the standard of their home on moving in.

82.36% of those who have had repairs or maintenance in the last 12 months were satisfied with the service.

81.66% were satisfied with the management of their neighbourhood.

97.78% of those households who were homeless in the last 12 months were satisfied with the quality of temporary or emergency accommodation.

80.26% of tenants felt their rent represented good value for money.

100% of gypsies/travellers were satisfied with our site management.

Communities vice-convener Lois Speed said: “We are doing a great deal when it comes to engagement with our housing tenants, but we can and always want to do more to ensure that everyone’s voice is heard. The Viewmount development in Forfar was a shining example of how we listen to our customers. Where once were unpopular, unloved flats, that quite frankly no one wanted to live in, we have delivered houses that people are proud to call home and be at home in. From the architect’s page through to the keys being handed over, we ensured that tenants were involved – thanks in no small part to the Viewmount Voices. It’s an approach that has helped to build not just homes, but a community too and our participation will continue long after the front door key has been turned.”

It’s an approach that will continue throughout the housing service and via ongoing and upcoming housing projects, including – Academy Court in Forfar; Abbey Quarter and Timmergreens in Arbroath.

There are a variety of ways, directly with our staff, at local meetings, online and via surveys in which you can engage. But if you know of someone who is unable to get in touch with us because of work/family commitments, or perhaps language, confidence or digital skills barriers, let us know and we will get in touch with them.

For tenants who are internet-able and enabled, there is more information on the Housing pages of our website and via the this Blog. If you want to speak to someone to find out more about tenant participation options, or to give us your ideas, contact Mark Johnston, Communities Officer – email:  JohnstonM1@angus.gov.uk  Work mobile: 07786 646859