Rent and Service Charges

The City of Wolverhampton Council’s (CWC) Housing Services are required to undertake an annual review of its rent and service charges.

In February 2019 the government confirmed that it will resume the policy to increase rents by the consumer price index (CPI) plus 1% from 1 April 2020 for five years.

For the financial year 2021-2022 a 1.7% increase was approved by the Council, this increase allowed us to build more Council homes and make improvements to housing quality by helping to fund the projects set out below:

• Improvements to our repairs and maintenance service.
• Improved customer experience - enabling customers to deal with us easily and ensure that they are listened to through a variety of channels.
• Develop digital platforms and make improvements to our website to provide ease of access and speed in responding to queries.
• Help communities to stay safe and secure.
• Keep neighbourhoods clean and tidy.
• Maintenance, investment and improvements to homes – including responsive repairs, planned repairs, adaptations, asbestos and fire reviews.
• Support the City Housing Strategy to provide more homes.
• Support the challenges of welfare benefits and provide money advice.
• Improvements to aids and adaptions making it quicker and easier for people with a disability to have access to what is needed.
• Capital Programme.

For the financial year 2022-2023 an increase of 4.1% will be proposed to Cabinet and then full Council in January 2021.

The impact of the proposed rent increase is detailed in the table below:

This increase would allow the Council to maximise investment in new build Council housing and improve housing quality and the safety of homes.

For 2022-2023 our priorities will include focus and investment on the following key themes:

• High and medium rise flats
• Low rise flats and housing
• Houses built using non-traditional construction methods
• New build flats and housing to add to our housing stock

Each of these themes will consider:

• Structural integrity, making sure our housing stock is fit for the future and sustainable
• Building safety and compliance
• Decency, continuing to meet the standards and ongoing improvements
• Carbon reduction and climate change, helping the City meet its carbon reduction target and ensure tenants have affordable heating and warm homes
• Estates and communities

As part of Council’s commitment to involving tenants and other service users in the management of housing services, City of Wolverhampton Council invites views from tenants and leaseholders in respect of rent and service charges and the Council’s priorities for 2022-2023.