House Talk Winter 2019

YOUR MONEY ADVICE SUPPLEMENT
talk
money
Sheltered Housing
Charges
These charges are only paid by tenants in our
sheltered housing schemes, and only cover the
specific costs of shared facilities in these schemes
such as:
¸ Scheme manager and support assistant teams
(where applicable)
¸ The pull chord system in the properties
¸ Communal facilities
In order for sheltered housing tenants to continue to
cover the costs of the service provided the proposed
charges are as follows:
¸ £15.54 per week for tenants in Category 1
schemes, an increase of 56p per week.
¸ £49.14 per week for tenants in Category 2
schemes, an increase of £1.96 per week.
¸ £86.38 per week for tenants in category 2.5
schemes, an increase of £3.22 per week.
Laundry charges
We have laundry facilities in our sheltered schemes
and some of our tower blocks. The charges are set to
cover what it costs the Council to provide the service.
The Council intends to also freeze for next year.
¸ £2.00 for a wash token
¸ £1.50 for a dry token
Garage rents and
parking spaces
We have involved residents in the past to agree the
charging principle for garages and parking spaces and
we are proposing to continue to charge a commercial
rate for non-tenants whilst offering lower charges for
our tenants and leaseholders who use the spaces.
For 2020-21 the tenant / leaseholder rates are
proposed as:
Lowest
Weekly Rates
(Local Tenants)
Garages £11.49 £28.49
Parking spaces £2.11 £19.27
This year the charges are currently set at:
Lowest
Weekly Rates
(Local Tenants)
Garages £11.30 £27.13
Parking spaces £2.07 £18.35
Highest
Weekly Rates
(Non-tenants)
Highest
Weekly Rates
(Non-tenants)
The majority of the charges paid by tenants and
leaseholders have increased by inflation; charges for
non-tenants have increased by 5%, this is to reflect
the higher demand for spaces in inner city areas.
Heating charges
We currently have 15 blocks in Portsmouth that we
provide heating for, the cost of providing the heating
is re-charged to the tenants on a block by block basis.
Since April 2013 we have recovered the full cost of
providing this service to ensure that any cost is not
met by pooled rents.
Next year, due to ‘forward buying’ our utilities, the
proposal to keep heating costs at the same level as
they are currently.
Your views count
We really do want your feedback and input on the
proposed rents and charges so be sure to get in
touch with us using the addresses and meetings
listed in this article.
12 money talk