Social Housing Rents and Rent Arrears, as at 31 March 2011

This Statistical Release presents information on the average weekly rents for  rented local authority (LA) and Registered Social Landlord (RSL) dwellings set at the 31 March 2011, for the financial year 2011-12. It also includes information on the level of social housing rent arrears as at 31 March 2011.

The key points from the latest release are:

• Rent levels within the social housing sector have increased in recent years across all property types, with the overall average rising by around 45 per cent for local authorities and 40 per cent for registered social landlords (RSLS) between 2003-04 and 2010-11.
• Local authority rent levels continue to remain below those of the RSLs, with an overall average per week of £67.95 for 2011-12, compared to £69.51 for RSLs. The gap between local authority and RSL rents however has narrowed considerably over the last year with the difference now only 2 per cent compared to 6 per cent in 2010-11.
• Across Wales, the highest overall local authority rents in 2011-12 for all property types (including sheltered, supported and extra care housing) were in the Vale of Glamorgan at £75.00 per week and the lowest in the Isle of Anglesey at £60.46 per week. For RSLs, the highest overall rents for all property types were in Cardiff at £75.25 per week and the lowest in Blaenau Gwent at £59.93 per week.
• At the end of March 2011, just under a third (32 per cent) of all social housing tenants were in arrears, with 2 per cent in arrears for more than 13 weeks. Across Wales, the highest proportion of tenants in arrears was in Ceredigion at 67 per cent and the lowest in Wrexham at 18 per cent.

Contact

Tel: 029 2082 5055
E-mail: stats.housing@wales.gsi.gov.uk

Next update

July 2012 (provisional - to be confirmed on Due Out Soon page)
Social Housing Stock and Rent, 2011-12 - 26 July 2012
Social Housing Vacancies, Lettings and Arrears, 2011-12 - February 2013 (provisional - to be confirmed on Due Out Soon page)