Scheduled to take effect from March 28, the rent increase was determined as the necessary amount to ensure the Co-operative can continue to invest and improve in its stock, repay the private finance borrowed over the years to build new homes, and deliver the services required to support tenants adapt to challenging times.

A rent consultation process which began in early January saw all 695 tenants receive a postal survey along with a letter explaining why the rents had increased and what it personally meant for them.

The consultation includes three rent increase options of 3.3%, 3.5% or 4.0%. A total of 186 tenants (27%) completed the survey.

Claire McGraw, housing manager of Easthall Park, said: “This is the highest ever return we have had to our rent consultation and this is testimony to the hard work of our staff as they used every method possible to get tenants views from text messaging, interviews, home visits, evening meetings and postal surveys. We are delighted and determined to use these various types of consultation in the future. We are extremely grateful to all our tenants who took the time to complete this survey.”

Easthall Park added: “We do recognise many of our tenants are experiencing difficulty with low or stagnant wages and benefit changes (via welfare reform). Accordingly, our management committee has limiting annual rent increases as a key business priority and we want to help our tenants pay their rent.”