08 February 2002
Many struggle to balance their role as social landlords against the need to keep within a business plan, says the study by the Cambridge Centre for Housing and Planning Research.
Associations undertaking new developments, in particular, 'had to weigh up income and expenditure for loan repayments', and had to keep rents competitive while at the same time keeping them affordable to those on a low income, says the report, published on February 5.
The research was carried out prior to the government announcing a new rents formula for councils and registered social landlords, based on local incomes and property values, which takes effect from April.
But David Cheesman, the corporation's head of policy, research and statistics, said it was still important to assess housing markets and get an idea of what people 'consider to be affordable'.
Among RSLs that measure affordability, some used technical approaches. Others benchmarked their rents against those charged by other associations, but frequently in an ad-hoc way, says the report, Getting rents right.
An analysis of rents, also published by the corporation this week, shows London has the highest mean gross rents (£67 per week), while Merseyside has the lowest at £49.
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