1. I do not use my aerial, why am I being charged?
The council provides a communal aerial for around 8,000 tenants across several locations. The costs of supply, maintenance and a callout repair service are divided equally amongst those tenants and leaseholders.
The aerial provides access to terrestrial channels, so long as tenants own either a digital television, a Freeview or Freesat box, and it allows for reception of digital radio broadcasts. The equipment also lets tenants enter their own private subscription arrangements with companies such as Sky (not Sky Q), allowing the full range of their services including HD broadcasts.
A satellite dish forms part of installation so there will be no need for any further ones to be added to our buildings.
For council tenants and leaseholders, the weekly service charge is part of the tenancy agreement whether it is accessed or not.
2. I have not had my windows cleaned, why am I being charged?
The window cleaning service provided is for the twice annual cleaning of the communal area windows and is not for the cleaning of individual properties.
3. Will I receive a rent statement?
Paper rent statements are no longer issued. You can view a statement of your rent account using the Housing Online portal. Tenants can sign up to Housing Online using your rent or account reference at the top corner of your notification letter.
Please contact the Customer Contact Team should you require assistance to access Housing Online
4. If I pay by Direct Debit, will the payments be amended?
Yes. All affected direct debits will be amended, following the change to your charges you will receive a letter informing you of any changes to your payments.
If there is a balance outstanding on your account on 31 March 2024, which you have not cleared and is not in an arrangement, your instalments will be recalculated over the next few weeks to recover any outstanding monies. We will advise you of this by letter.
5. Why have the service charges changed?
Service charges are updated each year following a large reconciliation. We do this to make sure we recover the actual costs for services provided during the previous financial year and anticipate any changes in the coming year.
There are 53 weeks for the service charge year 2024-25, with the two rent free weeks. The service charge and rent increase has been calculated on 51 payments.
6. What are eligible, other, and personal charges?
‘Eligible’ charges are costs that your Housing Benefit or Universal Credit claim will cover as part of your housing element.
‘Other’ charges and ‘Personal’ charges are charges not covered by housing benefit or Universal Credit housing element.
‘Personal’ charges are optional costs you have asked for, for example, Home Contents Insurance.
7. I’m in receipt of Universal Credit do I need to notify them of any changes to my rent and service charges?
You will need to report your updated rent and service charges through your online journal, on or after 1 April 2024.
You need to update your 'Total Eligible Charges', 'Total Other Charges' (these are your ineligible charges) and your basic rent (found underneath the other charges section). If you do not have access to an online journal, please inform your work coach at your local job centre.
8. Why has the district heating charge increased by so much?
Since 2021, the national energy price has increased significantly, see below. For the last five years Norwich City Council has provided a very cost-effective service to our tenants.
- 2021-2022 price per kWh £0.014318
- 2022-2023 price per kWh £0.024789
- 2023-2024 price per kWh £0.078842
Over the last year there have been substantial increases for gas and electricity. For this reason, we now need to pass on some of the district heating costs to our tenants. The cost of the district heating fuel supply will be dependent upon the number of bedrooms in the property.
9. Who regulates the rent increase for council properties?
The Rent Standard and government policy set the limits of the rent increase each year, this year the limit has been set at 7.7%.
