Derry tenants of the Housing Executive are to see their rents rise by 7 per cent from this April.
The rent hike will affect around 18,000 HE tenants across the North of Ireland.
Around 18,000 Housing Executive tenants are set to be impacted by a 7% hike in their rent.
The Department for Communities’ permanent secretary has approved the increase for 2023/34, considering it to be in the “public interest”.
It follows a request from the HE to raise rents.
The increase will apply to all of the Housing Executive’s 85,000 tenants.
However, 78 per cent of these who are in receipt of housing assistance – 67,000 people – will be protected from the rise.
The DfC say the decision was taken balancing two factors – affordability for tenants and the NIHE being able to fund services.
It was also stressed that the 7% increase is in the backdrop of inflation running at 10.1%.
The official said the department believes the increase for the 18,000 who do not receive housing assistance is affordable and the rise was modelled across a range of household scenarios to demonstrate this.
Taking effect from April 4, 2023, the increase equates to an average rent increase of £4.86 per week and brings the average rent for a Housing Executive property from £69.49 to £74.35.
The 7% rise is similar to the increase for housing association tenants and public landlords elsewhere in the UK.
Over the last seven years, NIHE rents have been frozen for five of those years.
NIHE chief executive Grainia Long said the organisation is “acutely aware” of the financial pressures the public landlord’s tenants are facing.
“Working alongside the Department for Communities, we wanted to ensure that the impact on tenants’ affordability was kept to a minimum, while at the same time making sure that we can continue to invest in our homes and provide tenant services,” she said.
“Rents pay for services to tenants. The decision to increase rents ensures ongoing investment in our tenants’ homes and continued provision of customer and neighbourhood services.
“A further rent freeze would have amounted to a cut in services, whereas the new rent level will improve our ability to invest in our stock and work to keep our tenants safe, warm and dry, and ensure sustainable levels of pay for our staff.
“It has also taken into the account the rate of inflation and rising costs for goods and materials.”
Ms Long added that in 2022 the NIHE invested more than £190m in maintaining and improving its properties and this will increase to beyond £200m this year.
“Over recent months we have grown our financial inclusion team to provide benefits checks to make sure tenants are receiving everything they are entitled to and to help resolve complex benefits issues.”
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