WMC Increases

Home Page Forums Members Forum WMC Increases

Viewing 9 posts - 1 through 9 (of 9 total)
  • Author
    Posts
  • #140185

    Firstly my apologies if this has been asked before!

    We are currently reviewing our WMC for 2 sites with a view to a 3% increase inline with the pension increase for this year. . Out of our 22 residents, the majority all receive HB. Our WMC ranges from £778.67 (single occupancy) to £889.91 (double) on one site and £815.75 (single) to £932.28 (double) on the other. The WMC includes all utility bills, water, gardening, window cleaning etc.

    Could I ask what all other almshouses’ in a similar position as ours are charging please. We are charging inline with local rental prices.

    Many thanks

    Cathie

    #140219
    christian.noll
    Participant
    ()

    Hello Cathie,
    We have a maintenance charge of about £650 a month and this is based on the rate of housing benefit our residents receive. Some of our residents have their housing benefit paid directly to our account others claim it from the Council and then pay us.

    #141293
    VGottesman
    Participant
    ()

    Hi Cathie

    Is your almshouse charity a registered provider? If so you can only increase by September CPI plus 1% each year.
    It’s tricky comparing contribution amounts or salaries in different areas but you can check the local housing allowance for your area here https://lha-direct.voa.gov.uk/

    All the best
    Vanessa

    #141296

    Hi Vanessa

    No we aren’t. Thank you for the link though, very helpful.

    Best wishes

    Cathie

    #148534
    christian.noll
    Participant
    ()

    Weekly Maintenance Charges
    We are reviewing our maintenance charges and are considering aligning them with the Council limits set for one bedroom properties. Do other almshouses follow this practice. If we charge less we would in effect be subsidising the Council which is a questionable practice since we are funded by grants and donations. For example West Berkshire (Our Council) currently has a rate for a single room flat set at £747.93 We currently charge £650 and I assume the Council would pay the £747 as published on their site.
    Regards
    Christian

    #149943
    William Clemmey
    Participant
    (1646)

    The following may be of help from previous responses
    As a Registered provider we are constrained by the CPI plus 1% limit. However we charge new residents a WMC based on the Euivalent Fair rent figure from the Valuations Office

    Others have stated:
    The Hospital of St Nicholas, Salisbury Almshouse
    Bedsit £369 per calendar month
    One bedroom flat (often used by 2 people) £404 per calendar month
    New – Hot Water/Heating Addition – from the 1 October 24 there will be a £34 month charge for a flat in double occupancy and by £25 per month charge for a flat in single occupancy.
    Notes:
    Rates change in April Annually
    Water and Sewerage Supplied free
    Electricity purchased either from the Almshouse or on the Open Market
    Council Tax is liable unless income levels are too low
    LHA is to Residents direct ( and then paid to the Charity) if income levels is below the Wiltshire Council Threshold

    Salisbury City Almshouse & Welfare Charities
    THE WEEKLY COST OF AN ORDINARY ALMSHOUSE (prices vary depending on the site)

    Maintenance contribution £84.00 – £131.00 (eligible for Housing Benefit)
    Heating and hot water contribution £15.60 – £ 18.40
    Support contribution £ 6.60

    THE WEEKLY COST OF A VERY SHELTERED ALMSHOUSE (prices vary depending on the site)

    Maintenance contribution of between £164.00 to £174.00 (eligible for Housing Benefit)
    Support charge £19.50
    Meal Contribution £70.00 (7 lunches)
    Electricity contribution £10.50 to £13.00
    Heat and Hot Water charge £15.60

    IN ADDITION all Residents pay their own
    Council Tax (Band A)
    Telephone
    Electricity for cooking and lighting and appliances used

    We operate two Almshouses in Lewisham, South East London. All our units are one bedroom flats, with the exception of a two bedroom flat that used to be for sizes as the building was converted from bedsits with shared bathrooms. The other almhouse has 21 flats and was purpose built around 40 years ago, so the flats are of a standard size.
    the resident warden. The smaller almshouse has 11 flats of different sizes as the building was converted from bedsits with shared bathrooms.
    The other almhouse has 21 flats and was purpose built around 40 years ago, so the flats are of a standard size.
    WMC rates range from £131 – £178 depending on the size, condition and orientation of the flat. This rate includes their heating. The residents pay this one rate, no separate service charges applied.

    Lygon Almshouses in London SW6 currently charges £151.58 pw plus £14pw for heating & hot water. for new lettings.
    We recently received advice from the Valuation Office Agency that a fair rent equivalent for one of our flats is £260 pw.
    The Local Housing Allowance for our area is £310.68 pw. so we too are seeking to increase our WMCs.

    Dorchester Almshouses
    Our weekly rate for April 2024-March 2025 for 1-bed flat large enough for a couple is as follows:
    Accommodation: £107.88 (increased each year in line with RSH guidelines for September CPi+1% maximum each year)
    Service charge: £23.75
    Intensive Housing Management charge:£30.04
    Support cost: £5.01 (based on former Supporting People funding amount)
    The above charges based on previous years costs.
    Gas: £9
    Electric: Paid according to usage
    Water: £4 single, £6.50 couple
    Utility charges are based on previous year’s bills divided equally amongst residents.

    Accommodation rate for smaller 1-bed flat, suitable for single person only is £96.99
    LHA in our area is £136.93 per week.
    All the best
    Vanessa

    Eames Almshouses (CIO 1205548)
    We operate 1-bedroom bungalows which have a little garden space. We charge £339 and £372 for single and double occupancy respectively – that is per month.

    Harveys and Jubilee Homes
    We have 8 one bedroom flats (Grade II listed) pus 2 bungalows. We increased WMC from £80 to £100 in April. For residents on local housing allowance the increase was met in full.
    Tony Prior

    We charge £112.50 per week for a one bedroom flat, with lounge, kitchen and bathroom. This is 90% of the EFR that we obtain every 3 years from the Valuation Office Agency. It includes gas, water and maintenance, but residents pay their own electricity, council tax, telephone etc.
    I’ll be interested to see what other charities charge as, despite large increases over the last few years, I still think we are very cheap. When I came in to the role at the end of 2018, residents were paying about £40 per week! – changes in occupancy have helped with the increases, while those who are still in their flat since 2018 are being increased at a slower rate.

    We have 6 bungalows, each with one bedroom lounge, kitchen and bathroom. Residents pay their own electricity, council tax, telephone, internal maintenance (if any), etc. We pay for external maintenance, grounds maintenance.
    I became a Trustee in early 2023 and was concerned about the level ofWMC charged.
    Existing residents were charged less than £50 per week per bungalow prior to April 2023. This was increased to £80 per week from 1 Jan 2024. and will increase again to £92 per week from 1 Sept 2024.. Our long term aim is a WMC of £138 (at current prices) by 2028.
    New residents are charged £138 per week and this will be increase by inflation annually.
    We had a EFR from the Valuation Office Agency 3 months ago. This was £600 per month (£138 per week).
    Weekly LHA rate for July 2024 for Chilterns BRMA for One Bedroom is £195.62 per week

    We have 8 one bedroom flats (Grade II listed) pus 2 bungalows. We increased WMC from £80 to £100 in April. For residents on local housing allowance the increase was met in full.
    Tony Prior Harveys and Jubilee Homes
    N Anderson in Wales:
    Residents pay £108 per week for WMC and services which include heating, water access to a laundry, care lines 24/7 and warden cover 9-5

    Tina
    one bed flat/ bungalow: from £116.34 (HB) plus £6.12 (enhance HB) upto £135.7 (HB) plus £7.13 (enhanced HB). Variations are not due to type of property. We put WMCs upto fair rent vaulations when the are relet.
    two bed flat: £146.29 (HB) plus £7.70 (enhanced HB)

    Fair rent valuation:
    one bed flat/ bungalow: £143
    two bed flat: £155

    Local Housing Allowance: (these have recently increased, previously these were v low)
    one bed flat/ bungalow: £117.37
    two bed flat: £159.95

    #153106
    Tina Collins
    Participant
    ()

    We are also looking at increasing our WMC as it has not kept in line with expenses etc.

    We are not a registered housing provider, and our scheme currently includes background heating and water which we are seeking to change/exclude. Our current rates are well below the LHA levels and the Fair Rent Evaluation recently conducted by the Valuation Office.

    As we are not a registered housing provider can we increase our rates as we wish, as the local housing benefit office advised me that we can only raise them by 7.7% pa?

    As the majority of our residents claim HB, I am wondering if we could do a big jump but then offer to support that self-financing?

    Has anyone any experience of making a large leap to get straight as the incremental annual increases we are taking will take years to get us where we need to be.

    #153149
    William Clemmey
    Participant
    (1646)

    Tina
    Since you are not a registered provider then you can increase your rates up to the Housing Benefit cap. You might want to consider introducing a Service Charge to help towards this figure which might be more acceptable to the local authority. There should not be any cap on the increase.

    Its worth using the Equivalent fair rent figure for your WMC (we do this for all new residents as otherwise we are capped by being a Registered Provider)
    You should try to to ensure that your rents are under 80% of the local market rents to be able to show that you are offering affordable housing as a charity

    You can find more information on Introducing a Service Charge on the webinar we ran for the Almshouse Association

    Happy to answer anything else on this
    William Clemmey
    Chief Officer Municipal Charities
    chiefofficer@municipal-charities.org.uk
    07922508913

    #154005
    Tina Collins
    Participant
    ()

    Thanks William, I will have a look

Viewing 9 posts - 1 through 9 (of 9 total)
  • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.