Tenants Living On Teesside To See Their Rents Rise by 4.8% from April as Landlord Reports Bumper Profits...
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Rent Up, Profits Up, Surplus Cash Up, Tenants Fed Up: Thirteen Housing Group Tenants Hit with 4.8% Rise After Income Surge...
15th Feb 2026
Thousands of housing tenants across Teesside and Hartlepool are being told to brace for another eyewatering rent increase from April after Teesside Housing Giant Thirteen Group confirmed that most rents are set to rise by 4.8 per cent.
The Middlesbrough-based business which fronts itself as a so called 'Housing Association', however performs no charitable business activity says the increase follows the Government’s rent formula of September’s Consumer Price Index plus one per cent, and insists the additional income is needed to meet rising costs and fund investment in homes and services.
Under the new charges, weekly rents will typically rise by between around £4 and £6 depending on the property, while shared ownership rents will increase by about five per cent in line with lease agreements.
Working Tenants Set to Feel the Increase More
Thirteen says the extra revenue will help pay for a £68.4 million programme to modernise more than 2,800 homes, alongside £64.3 million for repairs and maintenance and £9 million for tenancy and community services during the 2026/27 financial year, however many tenants feel the increase will hit those who are working harder rather than those who are in receipt of Housing Allowances through Universal Credit, where the increase is largely likely to be absorbed.
The Teesside Housing Giant who acquired almost all of Teesside's Council Housing in a controversial buy out scheme back in 2003 argues that its own costs are continuing to climb, pointing to higher spending on managing homes, maintaining properties and carrying out improvement works. However, the increase reportedly comes against the backdrop of sharply improved financial results which seen the Teesside Landlord again managing to dodge its Corporation Tax Liabilities by posing itself as a 'Charitable Orgainsation' leaving it exempt from paying UK Corporation Tax altogether.
Accounts for the year to March 2025 show Thirteen’s turnover rose to £230.4 million, up from £207.3 million the previous year, while its operating surplus also increased significantly. The group recorded a post-tax surplus of £34.1 million, compared with £29 million a year earlier, with the stronger performance driven in part by higher rental income and an expanding housing stock.
Although Thirteen maintains that it doesn't make a profit from service charges and that rental income is supposedly 'reinvested into homes and services', the contrast between the firms rising rents and rising surplus cash is likely to fuel debate among tenants already facing ongoing cost-of-living pressures & whether Thirteen is paying its fair share of Taxes to the Treasury.
For those not in receipt of welfare benefits, the increase is likely to be a bitter pill to swallow, as its claimed those in receipt of the Housing Element of Universal Credit will see their award increase in line with the higher rent, but the standard allowance is only due to rise by 1.7 per cent from April, meaning many low income households in receipt of UC will still see a widening gap between income and outgoings.
Thirteen has said it will write to customers with full details before the end of February and is urging anyone worried about affordability to seek support.
The latest increase follows a 2.7 per cent rise last year and continues a pattern of annual uplifts linked to inflation, with Hartlepool Borough Council recently announcing that their housing stock rents would increase by 5% to cover what they claim is a Housing Revenue Account barely breaking even..
