Rent increase to support continued investment in council housing
17 Jan 2024 ARCHIVED (over 3 months old) - view latest news
In line with the Government’s rent increase formula for social housing, Northumberland County Council will be increasing council tenants' rents by 7.70% from 1 April 2024.
The council has 8,286 properties in its housing stock. More than 70% of tenants will be protected from the rent increase as the extra cost will be met by their housing benefit or Universal Credit payments.
For the 28% of council tenants who will be affected by the increase Cabinet also agreed a sum of £350,000 to be added to the existing Hardship Fund. This fund is specifically targeted to assist those council tenants, who may, due to their income, not be eligible to receive any financial assistance through existing benefits but may be struggling with rent payments because of the proposed increase in rent or general cost of living.
The fund is administered internally by the Housing Income Team, with each request considered on merit to establish if any arrears are attributable to the rent increase and if so, financial assistance will be provided.
The 7.70% increase which was approved by the council’s Cabinet will be used to enable the council to continue to deliver existing services, maintain the decent homes standard and meet new demands and challenges. This includes repairs and maintenance, property investment and tenancy and estate management services.
A rent increase of lower than 7.70%, would result in a reduction of service to tenants as existing revenue budgets would be reduced.
From April 1 2024, tenants are expected to see average increases in their weekly rent costs of between £5.38 for a 1 bedroomed property to £7.69 for a four bedroomed property.
Northumberland County Councillor Colin Horncastle, Cabinet member for Looking after the Environment said:
“We do recognise the pressures on tenants brought by rising consumer costs however it is vitally important that all residents are able to live in well maintained homes, and that does come with a cost.
“For most tenants who are claiming full benefit, the rent increase will be mitigated by increases in Housing Benefit or the housing element of Universal Credit.”
“The rent increase is necessary for us to manage, maintain and invest in our housing stock. This includes a planned programme of replacement roofs, kitchens, bathrooms, rewires and heating systems, along with other improvement energy efficiency schemes. All these works are experiencing inflationary price increases.”
The money from the housing rent goes directly into the Housing Revenue Account which is ring fenced for housing services so the benefits will be felt by all our tenants.
Tenants will be notified of the rent increase and advised to contact their dedicated income officer if they are experiencing severe financial hardship.