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Like all housing associations we review your rent and service charges each year in line with Government policy. After discussing this with our resident engagement panel and sharing their views with our board, your rent will rise by 2.7% from April.

For Shared Ownership the rent increase is specific to the individual lease.

In 2025/26, we plan to invest £9.1 million in our homes.  £5.6 million of this will be spent on responsive repairs and bringing our empty homes up to the standard required to let them.  And £3.5 million will be invested in home improvements, such as new kitchens, bathrooms, roofs and within our communal areas.

Your proposed service charge is based on maintaining your block and shared areas. While we’ve made savings where possible, rising costs outside our control like energy and the costs of materials to carry out repairs and home improvements, may mean your service charge has gone up.  All of these charges have been checked and where there were significant changes these have been reviewed.

The Brighter Places board made the decision, taking into account the views of the resident engagement panel.

If you have been a resident for over a year, you can share any concerns you have by calling us on 0117 942 4600 or emailing us at RentandServiceCharges@brighterplaces.co.uk

If you have been a resident for under a year, you can appeal.  With your ‘notice of rent change – 2025-2026’ letter we enclosed a form – Form 4. This explains how you can appeal against the rent increase.  If you want to appeal, you’ll need to do so before the increase takes effect.  This is 1st April if your rent is charged monthly and 7^th April is your rent is charged monthly.

Click here to see our leaflet about the help that is available to you if you are struggling with budgeting, benefits, managing debt, employment and keeping track of your energy costs.

We have heard what residents have told us about both the repairs service and the communal cleaning & grounds maintenance services and we have taken steps to put new contracts in place. Costs across a number of sectors have increased, but we expect these new contracts to deliver in terms of value for money.

On 1st November 2024, aAFD started delivering the communal grounds maintenance and cleaning service. We are monitoring the delivery of these works during estate inspections and other communal area visits.  We will make sure that we only pay for services that are provided and to the agreed standards.

On 21st March 2025, Ian Williams will start delivering the responsive repairs service and Sureserve Compliance will deliver the gas servicing and heating repairs. We are confident that residents will experience an improved service over the course of the year as a result.

Residents’ feedback and involvement have been at the heart of finding these new contractors so we hope all residents will feel the positive impacts of these changes.

If you are unhappy about a service you have received or a lack of service, please visit the Feedback and Complaints page on our website and let us know your concerns by completing the form at the bottom of the page.

We are here to help. Please speak to us if you are struggling to pay your rent alongside other day to day living costs. Call 0117 942 4600 or email RentandServiceCharges@brighterplaces.co.uk

There are various ways we can help.  Click here to see our leaflet about the help that is available to you if you are struggling with budgeting, benefits, managing debt, employment and keeping track of your energy costs.

In April, Universal Credit will add a ‘Confirm your housing costs’ in your ‘to-do’ section of your Universal Credit account.

You must complete the ‘to do’ before the end of your Universal Credit assessment period in April 2025 or you will miss out on the money you are due.

How will this look?

On the day of the change (1st April 2025 if you pay your rent monthly and 7th April is you pay your rent weekly), you will get notifications in your ‘to do’ section of the Universal Credit.  You will be asked similar questions to those in the image below.

 How to confirm housing costs:  Go to your to-do list and select ‘Confirm your housing costs.’  Do not use  the ‘Change of circumstances’ to-do to report your rent change.

 Note – If you do not pay service charges, type £00.00.

Change of circumstances 

You don’t need to update your rent through the ‘change of circumstance’ facility – just complete the ‘to do’ item as above.

The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) encourages everyone to use their online services. You can log in here: https://www.gov.uk/sign-in-universal-credit  Or call their helpline: 0800 328 5644

Every year the DWP send us a large number of messages to check that the information about the rent increase that you have told them via your UC journal is correct. We aim to respond to these as quickly as possible so that you receive the correct amount of benefit.

If your housing benefit is paid directly to Brighter Places, we will let your Housing Benefit team know.  However, we would encourage residents to also inform Housing Benefit of their rent change.

If housing benefit is paid to you, you need to contact the Housing Benefits team at your local council to let them know your rent has changed.  Please do this as soon as you can.

The Housing Benefits team will probably ask you to notify them of a ‘change of circumstance’ and provide a copy of your rent notification letter confirming your rent from April 2025.  Councils receive high volumes of calls so please give your council as much notice as you can.

Contact details for your local council are below.

If you receive partial housing benefit, the council will contact you to advise what your new entitlement will be. Once you have received this confirmation from the council, you can contact us and we will help you to calculate the payments you need to make to Brighter Places.

Bristol  https://www.bristol.gov.uk/changes-of-circumstance

Call 0117 922 2300, Mon to Fri 8.30am – 6.00pm.   Closed Wed 12.00-1.30pm.

Currently quoting 14 days for a response to a change of circumstance notification.

 South Gloucestershire   https://beta.southglos.gov.uk/change-of-circumstances

Call 01454 868002

The council has public offices at Kingswood, Yate and Patchway where you can hand in forms or speak to someone if you need help.

Swindon  https://www.swindon.gov.uk/info/20013/benefits_and_swindon_money_matters/121/change_of_circumstances

Call 0345 3022316

Bath & North East Somerset  https://beta.bathnes.gov.uk/manage-your-benefits-claim-online

BANES usually want residents to manage their housing benefits online.   If you cannot do that, you can call 01225 477777.

We will change this for you, and you will receive a confirmation letter when this happens.

If you do not receive a letter before 1 April saying your direct debit has changed, please contact us on 0117 942 4600.

Please check your direct debit five days after the first payment is due to check the amount has been amended to reflect your rent change.

If your direct debit has not been changed or you think there is an error, please call us on 0117 942 4600.

We can’t change your standing order so you need to make sure your bank has instructions to pay the new rent and service charge. You can do this by contacting your bank online, by phone or visiting a branch.

Please do this at least 10 days before your first payment in April is due.

If you don’t know how much to amend your standing order by, please ring us on 0117 942 4600. We will give you the details so you can contact your bank to make the change to your standing order.

If you change your rent payment to pay by direct debit instead, we can do this automatically for you in future.

You can find out more about paying by direct debit here https://www.brighterplaces.co.uk/direct-debit/

To calculate your new monthly amount, multiply your weekly figure by 52 and then divide this by 12. An example of the calculation is below:

£ weekly figure x 52 (weeks) = yearly total.

Yearly total divided by 12 (months) = [MONTHLY TOTAL].

If you currently make additional payments as you have a repayment plan for a debt that you have with Brighter Places, then you will need to continue to pay the agreed amount in addition to this new monthly total.

If you are still in any doubt, please email RentandServiceCharges@brighterplaces.co.uk or call us on 0117 942 4600 and we can recalculate your monthly payments for you.

If you currently make additional payments as you have a repayment plan for a debt that you have with Brighter Places, you need to continue to pay the agreed amount in addition to any increase in your rent and service charge from April.

A failure to adhere to a court order will put your home at risk as it is the legal requirement to pay.

If you have any questions about your payment plan/court order or your ability to pay then please email RentandServiceCharges@brighterplaces.co.uk or call us on 0117 942 4600.

Please email RentandServiceCharges@brighterplaces.co.uk or call us on 0117 942 4600 so that we can help you.

If you need the letter in Easy Read or translated into another language please contact us and we will arrange that for you.

Letters will be delivered to residents week commencing 17 February 2025. If you have not received a letter by 28 February please contact us to request a duplicate letter.  Email RentandServiceCharges@brighterplaces.co.uk or call us on 0117 942 4600.

NOTE – Rackfield House residents and some residents in our new developments will not have a rent change so will not receive a letter.

• No, your tenancy agreement will set out the rent and service charges for your new home and when you are liable to pay them.

  If you have any queries, please email RentandServiceCharges@brighterplaces.co.uk or call us on 0117 942 4600.