12:00 Wednesday 15 January 2014 Written by MICHAEL HAVIS Council rents set to rise by hundreds of pounds a year in Stevenage The cost of renting for council tenants in Stevenage could go up by hundreds of pounds a year, if councillors approve officers’ recommendations. In a report ahead of next Tuesday’s executive meeting at Stevenage Council (SBC), officers recommend that council tenants be charged 5.61 per cent more rent from April 7 this year. On average, tenants would pay £5.23 more per week – approximately £270 extra a year – though more than 700 tenants will pay in excess of £6 extra a week. The increase contrasts with a rent increase of 5.1 per cent at the beginning of the current financial year and an increase of 6.7 per cent in 2012/13. Should councillors approve the increase at next week’s executive meeting, the rise would be voted on at a council meeting on January 29. Leader of SBC, Cllr Sharon Taylor, said: “I very much regret that we will have to increase the rent. There are two main reasons. “Three years ago, the government changed the way they funded housing. The government had a historic housing debt which we bought off of them. “We took on borrowing from the government of £218m and bought that debt from them. The pay off was we got to keep the rental income. “We have got debt charges that have got to be paid back and have a 30-year plan to pay that money back. “Part of that plan allowed us to lose 12 properties under the Right To Buy scheme a year. “Because the government has made that scheme more attractive, by offering discounts up to £70,000, we sold almost 70 homes last year. Which makes a massive hole in our payment plan. “The other reason is when we do build more houses, we will use some of that money for that.” Cllr Ann Webb, executive member for housing at SBC, added: ““At next Tuesday’s Executive meeting, I, along with other executive members, will need to consider the 2014/15 housing budget and rent increases for council housing. “We’re committed to providing affordable, good quality housing for the people of Stevenage. “The decisions made at executive will focus on balancing the need to invest and upgrade our homes, while maintaining a rental rate that will support families in the tough financial times we are experiencing. “Council Officers will be recommending a 5.61 per cent rent increase, which equates to an extra £5.23 per week, taking the average rent to £98.57 per week. “Compared with an average of £198.50 per week for privately rented accommodation, this still represents excellent value for our tenants.” She continued: “Although we do not want to put the rents up, the increase is necessary for a number of reasons. “As a council we need to be able to ensure that our properties are maintained to a high standard, through repairs and continued investment. “We need to accelerate the building of new homes for residents on our housing list and to mitigate the impact of council houses being sold through the government Right to Buy scheme. “We also need to repay the £200 million of debt passed to us by the Government, which allows the council to reinvest Stevenage tenant’s rents on homes in Stevenage.” As well as the increase, councillors have been recommended to approve a number of savings measures, including redundancies. The measures, which would save £622,850 over the coming year, also include changes to repairs and less use of sub-contractors. Cllr Taylor said: “The way we have tried to do this is to not fill vacancies. “We can’t avoid a small number of redundancies, but we are trying to take advantage of existing vacancies.” She added: “This doesn’t become final until the end of January.
Posted on: Tue, 18 Mar 2014 10:14:53 +0000
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