If you pay your rent by Direct Debit, we automatically started collecting the new amount from 26th March 2024. Many people find it easier to pay by Direct Debit for this reason. To set up a Direct Debit just call us on 01792 479200 and press option 1 for our Rent Management Team, they will be happy to help.   

If you receive Universal Credit, you’ll need to complete a ‘to-do’ with your new rent details on or after 1st April 2024 within your online Universal Credit account. We recommend you check your Universal Credit statement to ensure the increase has been applied.   

If you receive Housing Benefit payments and these are sent directly to Coastal, we’ll inform Housing Benefit of the new rent amount. However, you need to check the rent amount in your Housing Benefit letter matches the new rent in your Coastal letter, so please keep this letter safe. If these are different, please call us.   

If you receive your Housing Benefit direct, you’ll need to inform them that your rent is changing.   

If you pay your rent another way, then from 1st April 2024 you’ll need to pay the new amount shown in your personal rent letter. 

If you are worried about paying your rent and/or charges, please talk to us at the earliest opportunity. We know making the first step to ask for help can be daunting but please do speak to us as soon as you become concerned about being able to pay. The earlier you talk to us the faster we can help.  

Please contact your Community Housing Officer or call us on 01792 479200 and press option 1.

More information on how we can help you can be found at https://www.coastalha.co.uk/i-cant-pay-my-rent/ 

Coastal is a social business with rents as the primary income stream. We don’t make profits for shareholders and all income pays for the buildings and services we provide. The costs of building and services typically increase annually, and we apply an annual uplift to the rent roll to ensure we can continue to provide safe buildings and quality services.    

To reflect the current challenging economic conditions, Welsh Government capped the amount that rents can increase in 2024/25 at +6.7% plus £2 per week.  We are doing everything we can to minimise the impact on residents of these costs. Our approach takes into account affordability, resident feedback, financial viability and our values as a company.   

Coastal aims to provide safe, quality homes for less than you’d pay a private landlord.  

Rent pays for services and work that ensures compliance with building safety needs, day-to-day repairs and longer-term maintenance such as replacement kitchen and window programmes and work to improve the energy efficiency of home 

The rent also pays for Coastal staff and contractors and the services they provide. It also enables the repayment of loans to build and maintain homes.    

Coastal aims to provide safe, quality homes at rent levels that are affordable to local communities. Rents are reviewed annually in accordance with limits set by Welsh Government.   

We recently reviewed our rent setting policy and, in response to resident feedback, are now prioritising testing the affordability of rents against local income levels (called a ‘Living Rent’).

In 2023, we tested the Living Rent model with Coastal residents who pay their rent themselves (e.g. not through rent payments direct to Coastal from benefits) and found the assumptions in the model matched the reality of local income levels and spend on rents.   

Coastal’s board make the final decision on rent setting, ensuring there has been affordability testing, resident engagement and that any changes are both within Welsh Government limits and support the needs of the financial business plan. For 2024/25, the maximum increase to the rent roll permitted by Welsh Government is +6.7%. For the fifth consecutive year, the Board approved a below maximum increase, demonstrating a continuing commitment to keeping rents affordable. They also approved changes to rents in line with the findings of the Living Rent tests, which has resulted in some homes getting rent freezes and a range of increases to others.   

No. Welsh Government provides rent control for ‘social rent’ properties through the Rent and Service Charge Standard. This standard runs to 2025 and permits rents to be increased by a maximum of September Consumer Prices Index (CPI) +1% (in aggregate) as long as a number of conditions are met. However, if CPI falls outside of the range 0% to 3%, Welsh Government ‘calls in’ the decision for that year.   

For 2024/25 rents, Welsh Government called in the decision and capped the maximum rent increase at +6.7% overall. You can read more about this here – https://www.gov.wales/package-support-promised-tenants-minister-sets-new-social-rent-cap-wales    

 *CPI is published by the Office for National Statistics. It measures the average change from month to month in the prices of goods and services purchased by most households in the UK. The government uses the CPI as the basis for its inflation target and for uprating of state pensions and state benefits.   

Many of the properties Coastal own and manage are not defined by the term ‘social rent’ and therefore are not subject to Welsh Governments’ Rent and Service Charge Standard. This includes extra care housing, supported housing, intermediate rent properties, Welsh Housing Partnership properties, etc. These rents are set by Coastal and we have also capped increases 6.7%   

Shared ownership, leasehold and ground rent increases are typically in line with the specified contract terms.   

We operate a variable service charge system, which means charges to residents are adjusted regularly to reflect our best estimate of the cost in the following charging period and are adjusted in line with the clause in your Occupation Contract.   

Service charges are an analysis of the actual costs to provide each service. Some service charges are varied by the amount that is used and change year to year based on this, for example communal water rates and electricity. Some costs are fixed as they cover the actual costs of purchase and installation, for example door entry systems, spread over their lifetime usage. Other costs are fixed but change when contracts are revised or renewed, for example lift servicing contracts. With other services there is more flexibility, for example how often windows or communal areas are cleaned and the frequency of estates services.    

We keep under continual review how cleaning and estates services operate and reorganise this where we can, to provide the right levels of service for the best value.

The Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 (which went live in December 2022) was the biggest change to housing legislations in decades. In terms of rents, it now requires residents to receive two months’ notice before any rent changes and a copy of an RHW12 Notice of Variation of Rent to be provided when changes are made.  

You can find out more about the Act here https://www.gov.wales/housing-law-changing-renting-homes 

We recently reviewed our Rent Setting Policy and, in response to resident feedback, are now prioritising testing the affordability of rents against local income levels (called a ‘Living Rent’). In 2023, we tested the Living Rent model with Coastal residents who pay their rent themselves (e.g., not through rent payments direct to Coastal from benefits) and found the assumptions in the model matched the reality of local income levels and spend on rents. If you would like to be part of this group, please call us on 01792 479200 or email us at ask@coastalha.co.uk and ask to be added.   

We also consulted residents on our approach to some service charges in 2022. We were told that the cleaning and estates services are valued and there was no mandate to reduce these services to counter increases in utilities or other areas.   

We are establishing a method for regular feedback from residents on service charges, to gather scheme specific feedback on flexible service charges.   

We have recently written to you to explain that from April 1st 2024 we will charge your rent monthly not weekly. You can continue to pay your rent weekly if that is your preference. More information is here

Below is a guide to work out your new monthly payment: