Important updates for residents – April 2023
05/04/2023
Changes to your rent from April 2023
With the cost of living rising and energy prices going up, we understand that this year’s rent rise will lead to further increases to your monthly bills.
To support people living in social housing, the government has confirmed that there will be a cap on rent increases this year.
This means that for most customers, you will see your rent increase by 7% from 1 April 2023, a rise which is below inflation, in light of this difficult period.
Energy Price Guarantee
The government has extended the help its giving households towards energy bills for an extra three months.
This means that an average household’s energy bills will be capped to £2,500 a year for a further three months over April, May, and June.
Find out more about the energy cap here.
Bank holiday opening hours
Over the bank holiday our Service Hub will close on Thursday 6 April at 5pm and reopen on Tuesday 11 April at 9am.
To report an emergency repair during the bank holiday weekend, please call us on 020 7922 5300.
Changes to our antisocial behaviour line
Our antisocial behaviour (ASB) out of hours telephone line has now been removed from operation. We will still take reports of antisocial behaviour via the telephone, but this will only be between the hours of 9am and 5pm, Monday to Friday.
You can still report emergency out of hours repairs to us on 020 7922 5300 but anyone experiencing emergency ASB issues outside of normal office hours, is encouraged to report this to the police and inform us when the offices are open.
Customer joins Social Housing Quality Resident Panel
A national customer panel has been set up by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, called the Social Housing Quality Resident Panel.
The Social Housing Quality Resident Panel brings together 250 social housing tenants from across the country. The panel forms part of the government’s commitment in the Social Housing White Paper and works to rebalance the relationship between tenants and landlords.
Karen is an Aster customer and has been selected to sit as a member of the panel. Karen, who also works for Aster as a training officer, has answered some questions about her experience so far as a member.