Decision report 201100132

Summary
Mrs C had been renting her property from a housing association for eight years when she was notified that her rent was reducing. She was told that this was because the association had decided to withdraw their Tenants Improvement Scheme (the scheme) which allowed tenants to ask for improvements to their properties and pay a supplementary rent. The previous tenant had asked that the bath be replaced with a shower. This had been done under the scheme, so Mrs C's rent included an additional charge for the shower. Mrs C said she was not aware of this, and did not think she should have to pay for an improvement requested by a previous tenant. We found that the association had complied with the Housing Scotland Act, their own Rent Setting Policy and the scheme. In addition, we found that the Tenancy Agreement that Mrs C had signed made clear that the rent she was asked to pay reflected the standard of housing she was being offered and the fixtures and fittings within the property.