On 3 April, DLUHC issued a press release announcing that the new regulatory regime for social housing had come into force on 1 April and included much of the same information as the Regulator’s letter reported in the previous item.  However, the release also provides information on the rent settlement for 2025/26.  The current rent settlement covers the years 2020/21 to 2024/5 and limits council and housing association annual rent increases to 1% above the annual increase in the Consumer Price Index for the previous October, although an exception was made for 2023/24, when the increase was limited to 7%. The DLUHC press release states that the current policy will be extended for a further year to provide “greater certainty for social housing tenants and landlords about levels of rent next year in light of the new consumer regulation regime”.