Torus is committed to keeping rents affordable while maintaining our services. We review your rent each year and ensure it aligns with the government’s rent standard. This standard ensures that all housing associations set their rent in the same way.
From April 2025, following careful planning and in line with the government’s guidelines, we will increase the rent we charge by 2.7%.
In February, we will send you a booklet from Torus to tell you about your new rent and service charges, if they apply, from April 2025.
It is important you keep your booklet in a safe place. If you receive benefits, you will need your new rent figure to update your Universal Credit journal or advise your local authority for Housing Benefit claims after your rent changes in April 2025.
Key dates for your rent and service charge change 2025
- We will send your rent and service charge change booklets by post from the middle of February 2025
All rent and service charges changes will apply as follows:
- Monthly charges from 1 April 2025
- Weekly charges from 7 April 2025.
If your tenancy started on an affordable let property (paying affordable rent), rent to buy and shared owners between 1 January and 31 March 2025, your rent will not change until April 2026.
Your service charge may change, and your booklet will tell you about those changes.
Your first rent increase will be in April 2026. We will tell you about this when we send you your rent change booklet in February 2026.
Paying your rent
If you get Universal Credit, you will need to update your Universal Credit account with your new rent amount. Torus cannot update Universal Credit about your rent changes rent, so you must let them know to avoid being under or overpaid.
You must wait until after the rent change date in April 2025 to update your Universal Credit account. Use your Universal Credit account to report your new rent and services charge using the information in your booklet. You must do this before the due date.
Universal Credit will only backdate a change for one month. If you don't let Universal Credit know your new rent and service charge by the due date, you may need to pay any shortfall and rent arrears.
If you already get Housing Benefit, your rent payment is automatically adjusted.
If your tenancy is from 1 December 2024 and you have made a claim or are receiving Housing Benefit, you will need to contact your local authority to inform them of your new rent from April 2025. They may ask to see a copy of the rent change booklet, so please keep it safe.
If you pay your rent by Direct Debit, you do not need to do anything. We will amend your Direct Debit payment for you.
Most customers pay rent by Direct Debit because it’s straightforward and secure. It means you won’t fall behind in your rent payments. You can arrange a Direct Debit weekly, fortnightly, four weekly or by calendar month on any date. Set up your Direct Debit using your online account.
If you pay by standing order, you will need to contact your bank to change your standing order to your new rent payment.
From April 2025, please make sure you use your new rent and service charge amount in your booklet, if you pay your rent by:
- Debit or credit card
- PayPoint and Post Office
- Automated telephone payments
- Secure online payment.
I'm worried about paying my rent
Income Service Team
If you are worried about paying your rent after receiving your rent change booklet, our Income Service Team will work with you to find a solution that suits your circumstances.
If you live in a supported housing scheme, you can also speak to your Scheme Manager.
Torus Foundation
Torus Foundation can help you make your money go further with support from local and national organisations, including:
- energy advice
- access to finance support
- benefit experts.
Citizens Advice
Torus Foundation works with Citizens Advice for free advice. Let Citizens Advice know you are a Torus customer to get help with:
- getting the benefits that you’re entitled to
- making your money go further
- help covering debt advice.
Frequently asked questions about rent and service charge changes
Like most organisations, Torus faces increased costs each year. We need to increase your rent because the costs of delivering services to you have risen with inflation. These costs include the cost of labour and materials for repairing and maintaining your home.
By increasing rents, we can cover these costs and keep the services we offer our customers. If we didn’t raise your rent, we wouldn’t have enough income to maintain your homes and provide our current services. We might not be able to spend as much on making your homes more energy efficient, or we may need to reduce the scale of our improvement programme to your homes.
Torus follows government guidance to set the rents for our properties. Social housing landlords, like Torus, must set their rents in line with the Regulator of Social Housing’s Rent Standard. This standard ensures that all housing associations set their rent in the same way.
The maximum we can increase rent this year (2025/26) is the Consumer Price Index from September 2024 plus 1%. This year, it is 1.7%, plus 1%. Your rent will increase by 2.7% from April 2025.
Most of our service charges are fixed and will increase by September 2024's Consumer Price Index plus 1%.
If you live in a Sheltered Scheme with a variable service charge, your service charge increase is calculated differently.
We review your service charge each year to see if you have overpaid or underpaid for the services we provide at the scheme where you live.
Two of the main reasons we have increased your service charge are:
- The budget we set last year (2023/24) for your scheme didn't cover the cost of the services we provided.
- The cost of cleaning your scheme increased.
We will collect the shortfall in this year's (2025/26) service charge.
Torus is a not-for-profit organisation. We use our rent and service charge income to maintain your home, provide essential services and build much-needed new homes in the area.
Some of your rent pays for salaries and overheads. We test our salaries against the local market to pay a fair wage that reflects the responsibilities of employees in their day-to-day roles.
We also use your rent to provide support services to the most vulnerable in our communities, including those facing homelessness, neglect or are victims of domestic abuse.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Retail Price Index (RPI) measure inflation. Inflation tells us how fast the price of goods and services rises over a period of time.
The Consumer Price Index measures the change in the average cost of a ‘shopping basket’ of goods and services over time.
The Retail Price Index measures inflation using the same ‘shopping basket’ of goods and services but includes mortgage interest payments.
Updating Universal Credit with your new housing cost
If you get Universal Credit, you need to update your online journal with your new rent and service charge costs for 2025/26 once they have changed.
Torus is not able to update Universal Credit about the changes to your rent, so you must let them know to avoid being under or overpaid.
If you don’t act, you could lose out on the benefits you are entitled to or end up in rent arrears.
When should I update Universal Credit with my new rent and service charges?
If you pay monthly, your rent will change 1 April 2025. If you pay weekly, your rent will change 7 April. Update Universal Credit after your rent and service charge change but before the end of the “Monthly Assessment Period”.
Universal Credit will only backdate a change for one month. If you don’t update your Universal Credit journal with your new housing costs, your assessment may not cover the full amount of your housing costs. This could lead to you having to pay any shortfalls and rent arrears to your account.
How do I update my Universal Credit Journal with my new rent and service charge costs?
Log into your online Universal Credit journal by visiting www.universal-credit.service.gov.uk/sign-in
Once logged in, find your "To-do List".
You should have received a task to "Report changes to your housing costs" - click that option.
When completing the "Confirm your housing costs" task, you will be asked:
- Has your rent changed? – Select Yes
- Date of change
If you pay monthly, your rent will change 1 April 2025. If you pay weekly, your rent will change 7 April.
- Changes to rent
You will be asked if you are still charged weekly or monthly - this will not have changed, so select Yes
You will be asked to confirm your new rent. Use the booklet we sent you in February to confirm your new rent.
- Changes to your service charges
You will be asked if you are still charged weekly or monthly - this will not have changed, so select Yes
You will be asked to confirm your new service charge (if you pay it). Use the booklet we sent you in February to confirm your new service charge.
Once you have answered the questions, you will see a summary of your answers. If you have made any mistakes, you can change your answers.
If you are happy with the information you have provided, press confirm to complete the To-Do.