Consultations
We are always keen to hear your views on our services.
Check out our latest consultations below. Remember, we're always keen to hear your views all year round. Find out how to get in touch with us on our Contact us page.
Rent consultation 2026/27
Every year, we consult tenants on options for rent and service charges. Civica Election Services is administering the rent and service charge consultation for 2026/27 on behalf of Wheatley Homes East.
Engagement continues to be a key part of our rent-setting consultation. In December we held independently run tenant focus groups to understand tenants’ feedback on the potential rent and service charge increases, what any additional investment should be focused on, and how well the brochure explained why the proposed range was necessary.
Based on feedback we updated our draft rent setting brochures, with main changes being:
- the investment plans and what rent is spent were moved earlier in the booklet and made more clearer that it does not cover new-build homes;
- clearer images have been included on the investment plans page, with a brief description of the work;
- the priority we are placing on listening and responding to tenant feedback on repair improvements is referenced alongside the financial challenge of the cost of delivering this service;
- reference to the provision of alternative formats has been added earlier in the brochure;
- and last year’s consultation results are signposted.
From around the 12 January 2026, you will receive your consultation brochure in the post detailing our rent and service charge proposals for 2026/27.
This will include an instruction sheet telling you how to select your preferred option and give feedback via post, online, call or text. If you have said to us that you require large print, audio or braille you will also receive the information in your required format.
If we know that email or text is your preferred contact method, you will also receive an email or text from Civica with a link to the consultation brochure.
The brochure details the impact of our proposals on rent using a two-bedroom example. The impact of option 1 and option 2 for all house types is detailed below:
Wheatley Homes East – average increase per week | ||
Option 1 | Option 2 | |
Bedsit | £7.32 | £7.85 |
1 bedroom | £8.03 | £8.61 |
2 bedroom | £8.68 | £9.31 |
3 bedroom | £9.34 | £10.02 |
4 bedroom | £10.21 | £10.95 |
You have until 5pm on Monday 26 January 2026 to tell Civica your preferred option and give feedback. All feedback is independently checked and reported.
If you have any questions about how to select your preferred option, or if you need the brochure in a translated or alternative format, please contact the support team at Civica Election Services on 020 8889 9203 (weekdays 9am – 5pm) or email: support@cesvotes.com
You can also contact TPAS (Tenant Participation Advisory Service) for independent advice by emailing Eveline Armour at eveline.armour@tpasscotland.org.uk or calling 07593 565 183, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.
If you are struggling to keep on top of your rent, please get in touch with our Customer First Centre on 0800 561 0088 or contact your housing officer. There are lots of ways we can help, including with managing your income, jobs and training, education bursaries, free furniture, support to get online and more.
In February, the Wheatley Homes East Board will consider all feedback from the consultation before approving the rent and service charge increase for 2026/27. We will write to you to confirm this before any increase is applied.
2025/26 rent setting
Tenants were consulted on two options: 6.9% and 7.9%. The consultation brochure set out what each option would mean for services and investment.
The consultation ran from 13–27 January 2025 and was administered by Civica – an independent organisation which specialises in consultations and verifying the results.
The results were as follows:
| Rent increase option | % of vote | Total |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Increase rents by 6.9% | 80% | 879 |
| 2. Increase rents by 7.9% | 20% | 220 |
| Total | 1099 |
We also received additional feedback from nearly 320 tenants on the rent consultation. The most consistent themes were around:
- investment and improvement to existing homes and communities;
- core services and opportunities for improvement;
- affordability and the cost of living; and
- the importance of our environmental services and repairs.
The results of the consultation were reviewed by the Wheatley Homes East Board on 6 February 2025. The Board approved an increase of 6.9%.
This increase is similar to a number of social landlords and local authorities across Scotland. For example, in West Dunbartonshire, South Lanarkshire, Falkirk and Edinburgh, council tenants are being consulted on 8%, 6.5%, 9.5% and 7% respectively for 2025-26. In addition, Aberdeen approved a 7.5% increase for 2025/26.
Since 2021, our aggregate rent increases have been below inflation. This increase brings us back in line with inflation over this five-year period.
We will write to you to confirm your rent and service charges for 2025/26 before any increase is applied.
We’re here for you
If you are worried about keeping on top of your rent, get in touch with us straight away. We can help.
We can help with welfare benefits, fuel advice, jobs and training opportunities, bursaries for students, free furniture, free books for children under five, support to get online, and much more.
Remember, we’re here for you 24/7, on the phone and online, and will do everything we can to support you.
Call us today on 0800 561 0088.
Outcome of Allocations Policy review
Wheatley Group landlords consulted customers on three proposed changes to the existing Housing Information Advice and Letting Policy Framework, following recommendations from an independent review commissioned in 2021. The consultation took place over a six-week period during June and July 2022.
Throughout the consultation period, over 71,000 consultation documents were sent to customers with links and QR codes to an online survey. There was also an option for customers to receive a hard copy of the survey if needed There was a six-week social media campaign, with 43 posts on Facebook and Instagram reaching over 41,000 people. Links to the survey were also added to the Wheatley Group website and all subsidiary websites.
Wheatley Group held 13 customer focus groups, both online and face-to-face. A total of 235 customers booked on to these sessions. Customers who preferred not to participate were also offered individual phone calls.
A total of 2455 customers from all categories responded to the anonymous online survey. The breakdown of those completing the survey was:
The survey was made up of 25 questions based on the recommendations from an independent review commissioned in 2021. There were three key questions:
- We have homes in 19 local authority areas, do you think we should have the ability to reflect circumstances in local areas where this would support localised housing need?
- During the pandemic we moved to a new process for homeless applicants, where we worked with local authorities to provide a streamlined service for our most vulnerable applicants. You told us during the review last year this new process was working well. We plan to continue with this service providing additional support for our most vulnerable applicants, do you agree with this?
- As part of the review last year, you told us that Band E has too many different types of applicants. Do you think we should separate our properties with an age restriction (i.e Livingwell) into a separate band?
The response from those who expressed an opinion:
| Question | Response |
|---|---|
| Matching homeless customers | 86% agree |
| Ensuring we have flexibility to meet local needs across local authorities | 96% agree |
| Livingwell to move to its own band | 91% agree |
Stakeholder responses
Wheatley Group contacted over 50 stakeholders, local authorities and Registered Tenant Organisations with a separate consultation. Four stakeholders responded to the survey, two were from local authorities, one from RTO and the other from a housing advice charity.
| Question | Agree | Disagree | Neither agree or disagree |
|---|---|---|---|
| Matching homeless customers | 4 | ||
| Ensuring we have flexibility to meet local needs across local authorities | 4 | ||
| Livingwell to move to its own band | 3 | 1 |
Next steps
All comments were analysed and the Housing Information Advice and Letting Policy and Framework updated to reflect the outcome of the consultation. An updated framework was presented to Wheatley Group Board for approval in August 2022 and RSL subsidiary boards in September 2022.
The new Housing Information Advice and Letting Policy and Framework will formally launch in Spring 2023.
Guide to consultations
We’re always keen to hear your views on our services and how we can get better. One way we do this is by carrying out consultations.
All of our consultations follow these seven principles:
- Integrity – each consultation has an honest intention, that we will listen to and be influenced by what our tenants tell us
- Visibility – affected tenants and other affected stakeholders are reasonably aware of the consultation
- Accessibility – affected tenants and affected other stakeholders have reasonable access to the consultation. We will use digital means of ensuring access to consultations where appropriate
- Transparency – it is clear when the consultation closes, who is collating the responses and whether responses will be published
- Disclosure – any appropriate information applicable to the consultation is made available
- Fair interpretation – consultation responses will be collated and analysed objectively
- Publication – it is made clear of where and when the consultation report will be available.
Have your say in Wheatley's future
We’re developing our plans for the next five years – and we want your voice at the heart of them.
Earlier this year, we worked with an independent researcher to ask hundreds of customers what matters most.
From feeling safe in your home and neighbourhood, to improving communication, keeping rent fair, and investing in homes – your feedback has helped us shape four key themes for our next strategy, covering 2026–2031.
Now we’d love to hear from you again. Do these themes reflect what’s important to you? Are we focusing on the right things?
It only takes 10–15 minutes to share your views. Your feedback will help shape the future of Wheatley – and make sure we’re focusing on what really matters to you, your family, and your community.
Complete the survey here: https://forms.office.com/e/f0dyPcG1tK
Need help completing it? Call us on 0800 479 7979 and we can help you fill it out.
By completing this survey, you can enter a draw to win a £100 voucher for a supermarket of your choice. Taking part is voluntary, and unless you wish to leave your details to enter the voucher draw, then responses are anonymous.
Applied for a home with Wheatley but not yet a tenant?
We still want to hear from you.
Take a few minutes to complete our short survey: https://ow.ly/MNTB50WR3a7
It takes less than 10 minutes and will help shape our future plans and homelessness policy.
Surveys close at 10pm on Sunday, 12 October 2025.