Rent increases should be halved in Wales – as in England, urges WLGA
11 March 2009
Councils in Wales are demanding that their tenants benefit from the same reduction in rent increases for 2009-10 that have recently been announced in England.
The English Housing Minister has announced that council tenants in England will only have to pay 3.1% increase in their rent in 2009-10, rather than the 6.2% previously announced. The UK Government has agreed to provide the funding needed to finance this rent increase reduction so that English local authority budgets are not affected by the change. However in Wales council house rents are still set to increase by an average of 5.4%.
Cllr Aled Roberts (Wrexham), WLGA Housing Spokesperson said:
“As a result of the changes announced in England, tenants there can now expect to see a drop in their rent increase of nearly £150 for the coming year. This is possible because additional funding is being provided to English authorities by UK Government. Unless similar action is taken here Welsh tenants will be paying an average increase of 5.4% in Wales and more than 7% in some authority areas. The Welsh Assembly Government must act swiftly to lower rent increases in Wales.
We applaud the fact that the Westminster Government has recognised that the council house rent increases should not be excessive in these difficult economic times. However so far we have received no assurance that funding will be made available in Wales as it has in England. The recession is hitting tenants in Wales just as hard as those in England and the WLGA calls on the Welsh Assembly Government to provide equal protection.
Councils are working incredibly hard to limit the damage that the recession is having on our communities. The last thing we want is to be forced to increase our rents by double the rate of inflation while council tenants over the border are receiving assistance from the Government. We are raising this with Assembly Ministers so that we can work together to obtain the funds necessary to limit rent increases. Whatever support the Westminster Government has made to tenants in England needs to be made available in Wales.”
Ends
Notes to Editor:
• The Welsh Assembly Government is responsible for setting guideline council rents for each Local Authority in Wales. A similar arrangement applies in England where the Department of Communities and Local Government sets guideline rents. This has resulted in an average increase of 5.4% for Wales and a 6.1% increase in England.
• Responsibility for setting guideline rents is the responsibility of the Assembly Government who has devolved responsibility for housing. However the funding arrangements for Council Housing, (the Housing Revenue Account subsidy system) is the responsibility of the Treasury.
• The Minister for Housing in England, Margaret Beckett announced on Friday 6th March that funding is being made available to ‘help tenants get a fair and affordable deal’ This additional funding will allow councils to halve the increase in council rents for next year, a reduction from 6.2% to 3.1%.