Copy article

New Rent Standard released - what do you think?

ended 02. February 2026

The Regulator of Social Housing has published the Rent Standard 2026 for social landlords from 1 April 2026 onwards.

Social landlords will be allowed to increase rents for social rent and affordable rent homes by up to CPI +1% each year.

Landlords will be able to further increase the weekly rent on social rent homes that are currently below ‘formula rent’. As well as the CPI +1% increase, rents for these homes can increase by up to £1 more each week from 1 April 2027. From 1 April 2028, these rents can increase by up to £2 per week, until formula rent is reached. Further detail can be found in the rent standard.

Fiona MacGregor, Chief Executive of RSH said: “We are pleased to be able to finalise our rent standard based on the direction from the government.

“This will bring more certainty to the sector, so landlords can plan for their investment in the quality of existing homes and more homes for the future.”

Responses to the below this morning please.

  • What is your reaction to the new standard? Is it good or bad for landlords?
  • Are these rent increases enough for landlords? Or too much for tenants?
  • Any other thoughts

1 responses from the Newspage community

Copy all

Copy

Kundan Bhaduri
Entrepreneur, Investor and Landlord at The Kushman Group
There will be corks popping in the boardrooms of the big Housing Associations today. After years of policy flip-flopping and arbitrary caps, the sector finally has the one thing it craves more than anything else, which is certainty. But if you strip away the "social purpose" veneer and look at the balance sheet, there's something far more perverse at play here.

​This announcement is about credit ratings. By guaranteeing above-inflation rent hikes for a decade, the government is essentially underwriting the sector’s debt pile to keep the City happy. They know that without this revenue stream, the massive capital expenditure required for decarbonisation and the new Decent Homes Standard would be impossible.

​Think of it though, who actually pays for this "financial stability"? It isn't the government directly. It will be the tenants, who face a decade of compounding price hikes, and the taxpayer, who will quietly pick up the tab via an exploding Housing Benefit bill.