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The Housing Executive has announced its annual rent increase, with rents rising by 4.8% from 6 April 2026. This equates to an increase of £3.94 on the average weekly rent, which is currently £82.04, excluding rates.
All tenants will be contacted over the next few weeks to advise of their new rent charges and what they need to do. Around 81% of Housing Executive tenants receive full or partial Housing Benefit support or Universal Credit towards their rent.
Grainia Long, Chief Executive, said rent from tenants is a vital funding stream that is invested straight back into homes and tenant services. It enables them to provide essential high-quality customer and neighbourhood services as well as ongoing maintenance of homes and significant improvement work.
"In 2026/27 we plan to spend circa £270m on improving and maintaining our homes, with more than a quarter of our homes being upgraded with work programmes," she said.
Ms Long added that £42.3m of this will go to installing new energy efficient measures to make homes warmer and future proof them for many years ahead.
She said the organisation understands that an increase in rent may be concerning and challenging for some tenants and they are here to help. Their dedicated financial inclusion team can provide free, confidential money advice, help tenants to manage a budget and check their benefit entitlement.
"We encourage any tenant who is having difficulty paying their rent, to contact us immediately for assistance and advice. We would also reassure tenants that we will only take legal action in circumstances where rent is not fully paid and a tenant refuses to engage with us. We have included details of how to get in touch and the help available in our letter to each tenant," she said.
The Housing Executive says tenants concerned about the increase or experiencing difficulty with rent payments should contact the organisation for support and advice.
