Your Rent - Your Say

Information for all current and future West Dunbartonshire Council tenants. Please read - It’s important you have your say.

Having as low a rent increase as possible has always been an important issue for tenants and this again has been clear from the discussions we have had about this year’s rent setting consultation and so continues to be our main focus.

We plan our business over a 30 year period which spreads costs and enables us to deliver our new build housing programme, continue with planned capital investment to existing housing stock and sustain services for tenants.

Borrowing rates have increased and to help keep costs and the rent increase required as low as possible, we have used shorter terms loans until rates become more affordable. We have also identified a number of other savings to keep costs as low as possible, including:

• Reducing the existing annual Tenant Priority Budget from £800,00 to £200,000
• Delivering efficiencies within our void processes to reduce the length of time properties are empty and in turn reduce rent loss and council tax charges
• Delivering a 5% efficiency target set for Building Services to reduce the cost of the repairs service

We appreciate that all tenants face challenging financial circumstances, so we plan to deliver our agreed enhanced housing investment programme, ensuring our homes are high quality and energy efficient, but we are not proposing any options that increases this Capital spending.

Whilst much of what we do as a landlord is essential, we do have a number of initiatives which aim to deliver additional benefits and support to tenants. These remain important, though as part of the budget setting process we have amalgamated these so they can be delivered in a more efficient way and we are consulting on two options for the level of this Tenant Support Fund.

Our Housing Investment Plan for 2024/25 includes:

• improving 630 homes with new central heating systems
• improving 320 homes with new roof coverings
• improving 400 homes with window/door renewals
• improving 300 homes with kitchen renewals
• improving 200 homes with bathroom renewals
• improving 200 homes with electric shower installations
• improving 450 homes with new external insulated render
• carrying out 200 medical adaptations
• carrying out 500 path/general environmental upgrades

Please consider the 2 options below and then vote.

Option 1

6.7% Increase (average weekly rent increase of £5.94)

• Maintaining all current services that tenants receive
• Delivering our Capital programme of housing investment including the enhanced programme developed with tenants
• Continuing our New Build housing programme
• Maintaining a Tenant Priority Budget of £200k for tenant led improvements
• Combined Tenant Support Fund of £150k

Option 2

7.2% Increase (average weekly rent increase of £6.38)

• Maintaining all current services that tenants receive
• Delivering our Capital programme of housing investment including the enhanced programme developed with tenants
• Continuing our New Build housing programme
• Maintaining a Tenant Priority Budget of £200k for tenant led improvements
• Combined Tenant Support Fund of £400k