MS, Cabinet Secretary Housing
& Local Government: Today, the Office for National
Statistics (ONS) has published the Consumer Price Index (CPI)
measure for inflation for September, at 1.7%. The Welsh Government's Rent
and Service Charge Standard uses this measure to cap the
annual social rent uplift for the following rent year at CPI+1%,
so long as CPI in September remains below 3%. The rent cap of
CPI+1% places affordability at the heart of social rent policy.
It sets the maximum rent increase allowable in any one year but
does not serve as an automatic uplift.
The volatility of the last couple of years, as inflation peaked
at 11.1% in October 2022 and remained persistently high coupled
with energy price hikes, has caused significant cost-of-living
challenges for tenants and for the social housing sector. We
intervened during this period to set maximum social rent caps to
balance affordability with landlords' abilities to continue to
deliver essential services to tenants. Many social landlords
continue to supplement their existing services with additional
financial support and advice for tenants. These initiatives
build on the fundamental expertise social landlords in Wales have
developed in recent years to undertake affordability assessments,
which are used to inform their local rent setting policies.
We are continuing to progress work to develop a clear, more
robust social rent policy for the future. Our work takes this
focus on affordability as its starting point. It recognises the
priority social landlords place on ensuring affordability for
their tenants, and the value of the flexibility provided to
social landlords under the current rent standard. To ensure our
future social rent policy reflects the Welsh housing context,
needs and ambitions, we are working in close collaboration with
social landlords and other partners to ensure their input informs
our policy development. This approach is vital to ensure we
balance existing and future needs of both social landlords and
their current and future tenants.
It is important we work together to learn from and build upon
existing good practice; to improve where we can; and to
strengthen and further embed affordability in the development of
our future social rent policy.
A formal consultation exercise on our future social rent policy
is planned for summer 2025.
