Housing report 2023
How we spent your money
The rent that we charge and collect from tenants pays for the housing services that we provide. In April 2023 we increased rents by 7%, which meant that there was an extra £5,100,000 collected. Rent arrears owed by current tenants increased from £5,983,791 to £6,394,998 during the year. This was an increase of £411,207 or 6.87%.
Our Rent and Income team's focus is to ensure that rent and other service charges are collected. They also help tenants maximise their income and by doing so helps tenants to sustain their tenancies. During the year the team secured financial gains of £3,000,000 pounds for tenants. This was achieved through a range of support and help with:
- Benefit entitlement MOT's
- Northumbria Water discounts
- Council tax support
- Fuel Bank vouchers
- Food bank vouchers
If you would like to help and support with income maximisation, please email adviceandsupport@gateshead.gov.uk
How we spent your money
The money we spend on council homes comes from the rent and service charges you pay. We don't receive any additional funding from the rest of the council or central government. We can only spend this money on Gateshead Council owned homes and related services.
| How your rent is spent | |
|---|---|
| Repairs and maintenance | £34,300,000 |
| Managing tenancies | £24,300,000 |
| Improvements to existing stock | £15,600,000 |
| Managing our debt | £12,100,000 |
| Special services | £4,700,000 |
| Other investment | £4,100,000 |
| Bad debts management | £1,000,000 |
| Total | £96,100,000 |