Written question WQ93817

Social rent increases are governed by the Welsh Government’s rent and service charge standard 2020-2025 (the ‘Rent Standard’). This is a legally binding standard that applies to all social landlords, which includes housing associations, in Wales.

In Wales, affordability for tenants is at the heart of our social rent policy, which sets social rent increases at the level of the consumer price index (CPI) + 1% based on the September’s published figure for inflation. However, where CPI falls outside the range of 0% to 3% then Welsh Minsters must determine the maximum social rent uplift for the following financial year. In September 2023, CPI was 6.7% and therefore, a decision was made to cap the social rent uplift for 2024-25 at 6.7%. This was set out in a Written Statement published on 27 October 2023. A letter was also issued to all social landlords in Wales, including their representative bodies, providing notification of the decision on the same date.

This is the final year of the five-year Rent Standard and given that Ministerial intervention was required to cap social rent increases in three of the last five years due to high inflation, the former Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning took the decision to extend the current Rent Standard to the end of March 2026. This decision was set out in a further Written Statement which was published on 16 May 2024. This was also communicated to social landlords in a letter on 17 May 2024.

We are working in close collaboration with social landlords and other partners to review the implementation of the Rent Standard and inform the development of a future, fit-for-purpose social rent policy for Wales.