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Depooling

Depooling Consultation Response

Following the consultation carried out in Autumn 2024 the report submitted to councillors is now available to view here: final report published January 2025

What is Depooling and what does it mean for tenants?

The Council charge our tenants rent which is determined in accordance with the governments rent guidance. The charge for rent is expected to cover the cost of managing the property as well as the cost for any general repairs.

Typically, the charge for rent does not include other elements, such as grounds maintenance, grass cutting, window cleaning and communal lighting etc. These functions are often considered to be additional services that the Council provide to tenants and are chargeable separately to the rent charge.

The Council has a power to decide what services should be subsidised from rents and what services should be charged for separately. Depooling of rent and service charges is effectively separating the two: charging one amount for rent and charging another amount for services that are provided above and beyond what is covered by the rental charge.

Separating rent and service charges is more transparent, fairer for residents and helps us to improve service delivery in areas that matter to tenants.

Housing Committee considers depooling to be a necessity to ensure that services to tenants can continue to be delivered and to help keep the community a safe place that people want to live.

Next steps

Following extensive consultation with residents, in December the Housing Committee decided to adopt depooling of rents and services charges with effect from 1 April 2025. Housing Committee also agreed to a range of measures to minimise any adverse impact of depooling, including a service charge cap of £12.00 per week for flat block communal areas, an increase to the Tenant Support Fund over the next three years to mitigate the impact of depooling on tenants in financial hardship and an additional Housing Officer resource over the next two years to support tenants through these changes.

All tenants will shortly receive a statutory notice of variation setting out the changes necessary to implement depooling, along with some other minor amendments to tenancy agreement terms and conditions. This information and a link to an online survey can be found here

In the New Year tenants will receive details of their rent and service charges in their annual rent letter.

Here is a summary of residents’ feedback and what the Council is doing in response:

You Said:

We Did:

Fairness and transparency: 60% of respondents agreed that showing rents and service charges separately was fairer and more transparent.

Service Charge Cap: We are pleased that the majority of respondents feel depooling is fairer and more transparent.

Concerns about depooling: 54% of respondents did not agree with the concept of depooling, expressing concerns about the potential financial impact and confusion over what services would be charged.

Clear Communication: We will ensure follow-up communications clearly outline which charges are part of the depooling project, to reduce confusion. Recognising the feedback from those who disagreed with depooling, we propose a cap of £12 per week for flat block communal areas to limit the financial impact on tenants.

Service quality: Some tenants felt that the services provided were not as good as they could be, and there was confusion about charges for certain services like bin collection and standard repairs.

Additional Support: We propose to appoint an additional Housing Officer to support tenants through these changes over the next two years. They will support tenants affected by the changes and to help reduce costs related to issues like contaminated waste and fly-tipping to ensure tenants get value for money.

Financial hardship: Concerns were raised about how some tenants would cover the additional costs, especially given the ongoing cost of living challenges.

Tenant Support Fund: We have increased the Tenant Support Fund over the next three years and staff will continue to ensure tenants in financial hardship are helped to access financial and practical support.

Feedback and consultation: Tenants appreciated the opportunity to provide feedback and wanted to ensure their voices were heard.

Consultation and Feedback: We conducted a thorough consultation process, including written letters, online surveys, and in-person meetings, to gather tenant feedback and ensure your voices were heard. We will continue to develop our resident engagement offer over the next 12 months. There is more information on our website if you would like to get involved.

 

Consultation documents 

For more information please contact resident.involvement@stroud.gov.uk or calling us on 01453 766 321