Rent Review
What is the Rent Review?
Do you need us to help make your rent review letter more accessible?
Do you have further questions?
Customer Support Fund
If you have any questions about the changes to your rent or have concerns about paying your rent due to financial difficulty, please follow the link below for our customer support fund page.
Rent Review FAQs
What is the Rent Review?
Every year, Heylo Housing reviews your rent and other monthly charges in line with your Shared Ownership lease. Changes take effect from 1 April, and you’ll receive a letter by 1 March confirming your new charges.
How is my rent calculated?
Your rent increases each year according to the formula set out in your Shared Ownership lease. For most customers, this is based on the Retail Price Index (RPI) from September 2024 to September 2025, plus a small, fixed percentage (“ratchet”). Some newer leases use the Consumer Price Index (CPI) instead. Your rent review letter will confirm which formula applies to you.
Example calculation:
RPI
New Rent = Current Rent × ((RPI September 2025 ÷ RPI September 2024) + ratchet*)
CPI
New Rent = Current Rent × ((CPI September 2025 ÷ CPI September 2024) + ratchet*)
* The ratchet is the fixed percentage as stated in your lease.
How much will my rent go up?
Your rent will increase according to the terms in your lease and the formula outlined above. Your rent review letter will show your new monthly rent and other charges and how it was calculated.
When do the new charges start?
Changes to rent, lease management fee and building insurance take effect from 1 April 2026. Service/ Estate charges may vary.
What is RPI and CPI?
RPI (Retail Price Index) and CPI (Consumer Price Index) are measures of inflation in the UK. They track how prices for goods and services change over time. This is then used to determine inflation within the economy. More information is available at the Office for National Statistics via the following link www.ons.gov.uk.
Can I change how my rent is calculated?
What is the difference between Gross Rent and Specified Rent?
- Gross Rent: The rent due if Heylo owned 100% of your property.
- Specified Rent: The rent you pay, based on the share of the property you don’t own. Both can be used for calculations, but your monthly payment is based on Specified Rent.
Most Shared Ownership leases use the Gross Rent to calculate your annual rent increase. However, your monthly payment is always based on your Specified Rent.
Worked Example – Step by Step
Let’s say:
- The Gross Rent for your property is £500.00 (if Heylo owned 100%).
- You own 50% of your home, so you pay rent on the other 50% (your Specified Rent).
Step 1: Calculate the new Gross Rent after the increase
- Formula: Gross Rent × ((RPI September 2025 ÷ RPI September 2024) + ratchet*)
- Example: £500.00 × ((377.3 ÷ 358.3) + 0.005) = £529.01
Step 2: Work out your share (Specified Rent)
- You pay rent on 50% of the property: 50% of £529.01 = £264.51
Alternatively, you can calculate the increase directly on your Specified Rent:
- Specified Rent before increase: £250.00
- Rent increase calculation: £250.00 × ((377.3 ÷ 358.3) + 0.005) = £264.51
Whether you calculate the increase using the Gross Rent and then work out your share, or you apply the formula directly to your Specified Rent, you get the same result. For simplicity, we use your Specified Rent (the monthly rent you currently pay) for the calculation in your rent review letter.
* The ratchet is the fixed percentage as stated in your lease.
How do I pay my rent and charges?
- Direct Debit: This is the easiest way to pay. Your payments will be updated automatically by Heylo each year to reflect any changes from the rent review. You don’t need to do anything. Heylo will arrange this for you, and you’ll receive a confirmation letter from AllPay (our Direct Debit provider) when the new amount is set up.
- Switching to Direct Debit: If you’d like to switch from standing order to direct debit (so payments are handled automatically), just contact our Customer Care Team. We’ll help you set this up and answer any questions.
- Other Payment Methods: You can also make payments and view your account details through the My Heylo Home customer portal. If you haven’t registered yet, email us for a link or visit Sign In | Heylo Housing
If you ever have questions or concerns about your payments, please contact our Customer Care Team:
Phone lines open:
Monday–Thursday: 9am–6pm,
Friday: 9am–5pm
Does Heylo decide how rents change each year?
No, the mechanisms for calculating changes to your rent are specified within your lease and follow Government guidance (Homes England Capital Funding Guide).This document is used by Heylo and many other Registered Providers of Shared Ownership to calculate how rents change each year.
The Homes England Capital Funding Guide can be viewed here: Capital Funding Guide - Guidance - GOV.UK
What if I’m struggling to pay?
i’m concerned about the wider rising cost of living and its impact on my household budget. What can I do??
I also pay a Lease Management Fee, do the same increases apply?
Yes, your Lease Management Fee (sometimes called Administration Fee) will also increase in line with RPI or CPI, as per your lease. This Lease Management fee is a fee charged for the management of your shared ownership lease, paid directly to Heylo, it does not cover any costs related to managing the estate you live on.
I pay a service charge or estate charge, do the same increases apply?
No, Heylo does not set your service charge or estate charge. These charges are determined by your managing agent (the company responsible for maintaining your communal areas, building or estate)
How it works:
- Service/Estate Charges:
These charges reflect your share of the annual budget for services provided to your development or estate, such as cleaning, gardening, repairs, and building insurance (for flats). The managing agent reviews costs each year and sets the budget, which is then divided among residents. - How you pay:
- If you receive demands directly from the managing agent, you should pay them directly.
- If the managing agent sends demands to Heylo, Heylo will recharge the amount to you on a monthly basis. Your payment will be 1/12th of the annual budget set by the managing agent.
Important to know:
- The annual budget set by your managing agent is an estimate of the costs for the coming year, prepared in advance.
- Within 18 months of the estimated costs being demanded the managing agent will produce full accounts showing the actual costs incurred for managing the development.
- Once the actual accounts are available, you may receive either a credit note (if the actual costs were lower than estimated) or a further invoice (if there was an overspend compared to the estimate).
Service and estate charges are separate from your rent and lease management fee. The way these charges are calculated and increased is set by your managing agent, not by Heylo or your lease.
If you have questions about your service or estate charge, or what your payment covers, please contact your managing agent first. They are usually best placed to answer queries about the services provided and the costs involved. You can also raise queries with Heylo, but we may need to refer them to your managing agent for a response.
What are my rights and obligations regarding service charges?
How much is my Buildings Insurance?
- If you live in a house: Buildings insurance is provided by Heylo. The monthly premium is 1/12 of the annual cost. The new costs will be included as part of your rent review letter.
- If you live in a flat: Insurance is usually arranged by your managing agent and included in your service charge. For further information on this please contact your managing agent directly.
To read more about Buildings Insurance provided by Heylo, including provider information, and how to make a claim, please click on the following link:
Will there be an increase in the Ground Rent I pay?
If you live in a flat, you may have a Ground Rent charge as part of your payments to Heylo. Ground Rent is a fee set by the freeholder (the owner of the land your building is on) for the right to occupy the property. This is a standard arrangement for many leasehold flats in the UK.
How Ground Rent works:
- The Ground Rent is usually an annual charge, set out in your lease agreement.
- Heylo collects this charge from you and pays it directly to the Superior Landlord (the freeholder).
- When Heylo receives the annual Ground Rent invoice from the freeholder, we will invoice you for the full charge’s amount.
- Your invoice will include clear instructions on how to make the payment.
Will my Ground Rent increase?
- Any changes to your Ground Rent will be determined by the terms in your lease. If your lease states that Ground Rent will increase at certain intervals or by a specific formula, this will be applied automatically.
