Council house rent to increase by £36 a month in South Cambs
The District Council has agreed a 7.7 per cent rise
Council home tenants in South Cambridgeshire are set to pay around £36 more a month in rent from April.
South Cambridgeshire District Council has agreed a 7.7 per cent social rent increase to apply from the coming financial year.
This will mean the average social rents in the area will go up from £116.99 a week to £126 a week.
People paying affordable rents are also due to see their rents increase by 7.7 per cent.
Rents for affordable shared ownership properties are due to increase by 5.4 per cent.
The district council leadership said this was not an easy decision to make to increase the rents, but said they still represented “extremely good value” when compared the the market rent charges in the area.
At a full council meeting this week (27/2), Councillor John Williams (Liberal Democrat), the lead cabinet member for finance, said: “It is extremely difficult for us to put together this budget, which is actually going to be able to help us deliver the growth in the housing programme that we need.
“The housing revenue account is ring fenced, therefore what charges and income we get for the housing revenue account has a bearing on what we can borrow, and as result what we can build under the capital programme.
“So it has not been easy, but in these circumstances we have no other option but to recommend the rent increases.”
Councillor John Batchelor (Liberal Democrat) said: “The money that tenants pay has to pay for everything in the upkeep 5,600 houses that we currently have.
“This level of increase we are doing reluctantly, but it has to be kept in mind that this is the government formula so most places will almost certainly be doing much the same.”
Cllr Batchelor also highlighted that a number of council tenants receive benefits that cover part or all of their rent.
He added that the average weekly rents proposed were all “well below” the market rent in the district and said they represented “extremely good value”.
Councillor Heather Williams, leader of the Conservative opposition group, said her group would support the funding plans to build new council homes, but said they could not support the rent increases.
She said she appreciated the comments made about some tenants receiving benefits that would cover the rent, but said there were others who will still be impacted by the increase.
Cllr Williams said: “Our concern is there is not sufficient mitigation against making these increases.
“I appreciate it is a difficult situation, but I do think there could have been changes and different allocation of funds that would enable the capital programme to be pursued and by not increasing rents as much.”
The rent increases were approved after being supported by a majority of councillors.
The district council’s plans for funding to build new council homes were unanimously supported by councillors at the authority.