On 24 February 2026, we agreed the rent and service charge increases for the 2026 and 2027 financial year. You will have received a letter from us giving formal notice of your individual charges.
Help is available if you are struggling to pay your rent.
The increases are:
- weekly and monthly rent: 4.8%
- garage rent: 4.8% or 11%
Your letter will have informed you of any service charges associated with your property and the changes to these.
How your rent is calculated
Council housing rents are calculated using government guidelines.
Annual rent increases for local authority landlords, such as Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch Council, are currently set as CPI (Consumer Price Index) plus 1% by the government. This year is based on the September 2025 CPI of 3.8%.
How to pay your council home rent and service charge
Find out how to pay your council home rent and service charge.
For tenants claiming Universal Credit (UC)
If your housing costs are paid by Universal Credit:
- keep your letter somewhere safe, you will need it in April.
- wait until you are sent a "to-do" by Universal Credit in April called "confirm your housing costs."
- use the information in your letter to complete the to-do before the due date to avoid problems with your payments.
You must only use the "confirm your housing costs to-do" to report these changes, do not contact Universal Credit to report them any other way.
If you also have eligible service charges you will be asked about these at the same time.
Remember that:
- the number of rent-free weeks is 0
- the start date is 6 April 2026
If you have ineligible charges that are not covered by Universal Credit, these must be paid by you.
If you need any help, call us on 0800 028 1870 and ask to speak to a member of the Income Team or Your Money Team.
Read our rent setting policy for more information.