We are reviewing the way that council house rents and service charges are calculated to make sure that it is simple, fair and consistent for everyone.

Rents are currently charged based on the characteristics of the home, for example:
  • property size (using bedroom size)
  • property type and level (house/flat, ground or upper floor) or
  • property style (tenement, maisonette, 4-in-block, mid/end terrace, semi/detached)
  • other property features - heating system and fuel type
We want to hear your views, please take a few minutes to complete our survey. The survey is completely anonymous, the information collected will be kept in the strictest confidence and used for this research purpose only. It can be provided by Braille, large print, audiotape, or your own language. For assistance, please call 01620 827 827. British Sign Language (BSL) users can contact us via www.contactscotland-bsl.org

If you require a paper copy of this survey, please contact us by email tenantconsultation@eastlothian.gov.uk or call us on our Freephone 0800 413 721
Your household

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* 1. Are you a tenant of East Lothian Council? (please tick one box)

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* 2. What type of property do you live in? (please tick the type that applies)

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* 3. What size of property do you live in? (please tick the size that applies)

General rules for setting rents
The following two questions will ask you to express your views on the general rules that East Lothian Council should apply when setting rents. Please answer both questions.

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* 4. Do you agree that East Lothian Council should adopt a consistent approach to setting rents across all properties? This means that the same set of rules would apply to all property rents (please tick one box)

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* 5. Do you agree that properties which have similar characteristics should have similar rents (please tick one box)

Property characteristics that should guide how rents are set
Most social landlords in Scotland vary the rents between properties by measuring the differences between them. The next set of questions will ask you which properties characteristics should be measured and taken into account when setting rents.

East Lothian Council are considering measuring the differences between properties to guide how rents are set. The council would like to simplify the way rents are charged to make them easier to understand.

For example, the rent could vary according to:
  • property size (e.g. number of bedrooms)
  • property type (e.g. flat, house etc.)
  • the floor your property is on (e.g. ground, 1st floor)
Please answer all of the following questions.

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* 6. Do you think that the rent charged should vary depending on the size of the property e.g. that more rent should be charged for a 3 bedroom property than a 2 bedroom property? (please tick one box)

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* 7. Do you think that the rent charged should vary depending on the type of property, e.g. that more rent should be charged for a house than a flat? (please tick one box)

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* 8. Do you think that rent charges should vary depending on which floor your property is on? i.e. ground floor, first floor (please tick one box)

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* 9. Do you think that rent charges should vary depending on whether the property has an attached garage? (Please tick one box)

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* 10. Do you think that rent charges should vary if there is an extra room e.g. cloakroom toilet, utility room, dining room etc. (Please tick one box)

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* 11. Do you think that rents charged should vary on the age of the property e.g. more for a new build property? (Please tick one box)

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* 12. If you agreed above that rents should vary for newer build properties, what age of property should this apply to? (Please tick one box)

Summary questions: setting rents

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* 13. Are there any other characteristics that you think should influence how rents are charged for a property?

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* 14. If any changes are made to the rent structure and rents for some tenants have to be increased, do you agree that it should be? (Please tick one box)

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* 15. A very small number of tenants pay an additional service charge over and above their rent for separate services, e.g. sheltered housing services. Should this separate charge still apply or should these relatively small costs be spread across all tenants? (Please tick one box)

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* 16. East Lothian Council has one of the lowest rents in Scotland and is cheaper than all other housing providers in the area. The council remains committed to maintaining rents at an affordable level, however with cost increases rising more than rent increases in recent years, to continue to invest in existing and new homes more rental income is needed. We want to understand what is important to you so please rank the following statements in order of preference with 1 (top of the list) being the most important to you and 3 the least important

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* 17. Would you be interested in attending an in person tenant consultation session on the rent review?

Events will be held in August in the following areas:
Session 1: 18th August in Dunbar
Session 2: 20th August in Haddington
Session 3: 24th August in Musselburgh
Session 4: 26th August in Tranent
Please note that event dates and times may be subject to change.

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* 18. Please complete if you are interested in attending an in-person tenant consultation event:

If you provide your name and address you will be entered into a prize draw for a £20 gift voucher, your personal details will be securely held by us and will not be passed on. If at any time you wish to withdraw your consent or remove your details from our prize draw please contact us on Freephone 0800 431 721 or email tenantconsultation@eastlothian.gov.uk You can view our Privacy Notice which explains how we collect and use your information at https://www.eastlothian.gov.uk/council-and-democracy/community-housing-privacy-notice
THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO COMPLETE THIS QUESTIONNAIRE.
For more information, please contact us on our Freephone 0800 431 721
email tenantconsultation@eastlothian.gov.uk or contact your local Housing Officer.
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