This April Southway rents will increase. We and all other housing associations set rents using Government guidance, which usually sees them increase by slightly more than the rate of inflation.

You will receive a personalised letter with your new rent figure. In your letter and on this page, we've explained how the rent increase works, how to pay and the help available to you.

  • How much are rents increasing by and how is this calculated?

    Just like other social housing providers, we follow the Government’s guidelines on setting rent charges. For the next five years from April 2025 to 31 March 2030 the Government has said that social housing rents can be increased annually by the September Consumer Price Index (CPI) + 1%.

    This year the CPI, which is a measure of how much an average basket of goods and services bought by most households went up in price by, was 1.7%. Therefore, your rent will be increasing by 2.7%.

     

  • What does rent pay for?

    We are a not-for-profit organisation, which means we do not profit from your rent or service charge payments. All the income we receive is invested back into the services, homes and help provided to you and all other tenants.

    For some occupants on a Mesne Profit account, the money they pay to live in their Southway home is called a Use and Occupation Charge. The information below is also relevant to them.

    Home Improvements

    Some of the ways your rent and service charge payments will be spent over the next 12 months include:

    • Day-to-day repairs to your homes
    • New kitchens, adaptations, boundary and external maintenance works in homes that need them most
    • Improving the energy efficiency of homes to help save you money on bills and reduce carbon emissions

    Community & Support Services

    We invest at least £1 million each year in our neighbourhoods to help reduce the impacts of poverty. We offer free and confidential debt and welfare benefits advice, financial inclusion advice including things like helping people open bank accounts and help with budgeting. We also invest in:

    • Projects that address food poverty and fuel poverty
    • Helping our tenants and their families into work
    • Investing in community hubs and initiatives so we are stronger together

    Our Cosy Mondays sessions, which provide great support and a welcoming space to tenants and the wider community, have proved so popular we’re extending them to run all year round. This means you will be able to access the wide range of services we provide all year.

    Whether you’re struggling, need to earn, claim or just want to make the most of your money, if we know, we can help. Reach out to our Advice Team to access the support and services above by emailing adviceteamreferrals@southwayhousing.co.uk, call 0161 448 4200 or visit our Contact Us page for other ways to get in touch.

    We’re continuing to improve services that we know from your feedback are very important to you.

    We’re also launching our new Customer Voice Strategy; key features of the strategy are:

    • A much stronger commitment to you, our customers that you have every opportunity to get involved, that you have a voice, that we’ll listen and that you can influence the services we provide and how we provide them.
    • An emphasis on how we will use all customer feedback to learn and make changes.
    • A commitment to provide evidence of how tenant involvement has influenced us.
    • Recognition of the regulatory requirements around the customer voice
    • Ensuring that barriers to engagement including protected characteristics are managed to give equity in engagement opportunities 

    We will also be making sure there are lots more opportunities for customer engagement at our Cosy Mondays events.

  • How can I pay my rent (or use and occupation charge if I pay that)?

    There are many easy ways to pay your rent. We recommend paying by Direct Debit because it’s automatic, free, convenient, and safe. A Direct Debit is an instruction that you give your bank or building society.

    You can also pay rent online on the MySouthway portal on our website, on the allpay app, or by Standing Order, text message, post, or at a PayPoint or Post Office. To set up a Direct Debit or learn more about the ways to pay your rent, please visit southwayhousing.co.uk/paying-rent or contact us.

  • What if I can’t afford to pay my rent?

     

    It is always best to let us know if you think you will still struggle to pay, so we can work together.

    If you need help with your housing costs contact our Income Team incomecollections@southwayhousing.co.uk. Plus our Advice Team adviceteamreferrals@southwayhousing.co.uk are here to help you with any benefit you may be entitled to including Universal Credit. Or you can use the Citizens Advice Bureau or Gov.uk websites listed to do your own assessment.

    Our Advice Team can help you to maximise your income, make the most of your money and claim all the benefits you are entitled to. They can also help with employment, training and budgeting skills, and help you access any available support, including food banks, or help from other agencies.

    Your Income Officer can look at your rent account with you and talk things through, providing you with advice and referring you to other support that may help you pay your rent. They can work with you to reach an agreement about affordable payments.

    To access this support, you can:

    There is more information and advice on our Cost-of-Living Support Hub here.

  • How do I pay the new rent if...
    • I pay by Direct Debit and / or receive Housing Benefit

      You don’t need to do anything - your payments will be automatically adjusted to pay the new rent.

      But we do recommend you check the figures are correct in your Housing Benefit Award letter when it comes in April.

       

    • I pay by standing order

      You need to contact your bank and ask them to increase your payment to the new amount shown in this letter. Southway's standing order details are here.

    • I receive Universal Credit

      You will need to pay the new rent and report your rent increase to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) through your online Universal Credit account when it happens on 7th April 2025. 

      If your Universal Credit is paid directly to Southway, you still need to report the increase to the DWP.

      If you don’t report the change, the DWP will not increase the housing cost element of your UC.

    • I pay online, by phone or text, by post, or at a Pay Point

      You need to increase what you pay to take into account the new amount stated in your rent letter.

  • I pay Universal Credit – what do I need to do?

    You need to report your rent increase to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) through your online Universal Credit journal in your online account on 7th April. They will then increase the housing cost element of your UC. Follow these steps:  

    1. Sign in to your Universal Credit account at universal-credit.service.gov.uk/sign-in  
    2. Click on ‘To-do list’, then click on ‘Housing’  
    3. When it asks, ‘Did your housing costs change on 1st April 2024?’, select ‘Yes’  
    4. When it asks, ‘Are you still charged weekly for your rent’, select ‘Yes’. Add your new rent charge.  
    5. When it asks, ‘Are you still charged weekly for your service charges?’, select ‘Yes’. Add your new eligible service charges (if you have them). 
    6. When it asks ‘how many rent free weeks’ select 2

    Our Advice Team is here to help you with your claim for Universal Credit and other benefits. Our Income Officers will look at your personal circumstances and find the best solution for what to claim. Contact us for support.

  • What is the timescale for the rent increase?

    The new rent and service charges (if you pay them) will be in place from 7th April 2025. 

    If you pay your rent and service charge weekly or fortnightly and are not in arrears, you’ll receive two rent-free weeks per year. In previous years, your rent-free weeks have been in April and December. Following consultation with all Southway tenants in January 2021, we are moving the free weeks so they are both in December because we know that costs can be higher at this time. This year, if you are not in arrears, you’ll have a two-week payment break from the week starting Monday 16th December 2024.  

    If you pay by direct debit, allpay will write to you nearer the time about your payments. If you pay monthly, your payments will be split equally across the 12 months, so you don’t have rent-free weeks. This is also the case if you live in Tameside or Cheshire East. 

  • How does this affect Service Charges?

    Some tenants pay charges for extra services, particularly in blocks of flats, estates, or sheltered housing schemes. If you do pay a service charge, your letter will let you know your service charges for 2025 and whether there is an increase. 

    Service charges (if you pay them) are calculated every year based on how much the services provided are expected to cost us for the financial year ahead.

    • What is an eligible service charge?

      Eligible service charges are for the communal services you receive, like cleaning, lifts and grounds maintenance. They are ‘eligible’ charges because they can be included in a claim for Housing Benefit or Universal Credit housing costs.

    • What is an ineligible service charge?

      Ineligible service charges, sometimes known as Personal charges, include things like your individual water, heating, gas or electricity charges, which are provided to you personally and paid for by you. The services will vary depending on where you live and how much energy you use.

      They are ‘ineligible’ because they cannot be included in a claim for Housing Benefit or Universal Credit housing costs