Rent setting
Although your local arms length management organisation (ALMO) is responsible for the management of your home and estate the Council is responsible for setting how much rent that you have to pay.
We work out the rent for each of our homes by taking into account the following information
- local earnings
- property values in the Leeds area
- the size and condition of your property.
Local earnings
We use local earnings in West Yorkshire to work out rents. This includes the average manual wage in the area and how they compare to other parts of the country. This means that rents in Leeds will be lower than rents in London.
Property values
We have more than 60,000 homes in the city, and so we can't value each one individually. We have a number of ‘beacon’ homes in local communities that we use to provide a value for every other property of the same size, type and location across the city.
If you think that we have valued your home incorrectly we have an appeals procedure that you may wish to use. This only applies if you believe that the error is more than £3000. An appeal may find that the value of your home is higher than our figures, which could mean that your rent would increase .
For further information about the appeals procedure please contact your local housing office or one stop centre.
Property size
We use the number of bedrooms in your home to work out your rent. The more bedrooms in your home generally means that your rent will be higher.
When we reach a decision, and we set the new rent levels, we will send you and every other tenant in the city a letter. The letter will tell you about any changes, and how much rent you will have to pay. We will also tell you in the letter the value of your home that we have used in reaching our decision and the number of bedrooms that you have.
What happens to the rent I pay?
It is used to pay for your day-to-day services. It also covers other items such as paying back costs of building and improvement schemes.
What if I receive housing benefit?
If you receive full housing benefit this will not be affected by any changes. If you get part benefit the amount you get will change depending on how much your rent goes up or down.
When will the changes take place?
New rents normally come into effect in April.
Paying your rent
There are several options for paying your rent:
- Secure online payment
- Rent card pay point
- Direct debit
- Standing order
- Post Office Girobank
- Salary/wage deduction
- By post
- By telephone
You can contact us by phone on 01133984761 between 7.30am and 6.00pm Monday to Thursday; 7.30am to 4.30pm Friday.