Council housing rents and service charges are likely to go up by 7 per cent next year, tenants representatives were warned.
The warning follows the autumn statement when the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said that councils would be permitted to put up rents by 7 per cent – below the rate of inflation.
The council’s assistant director for housing management Martin Reid shared the news in presentations at four meetings with residents’ representatives and councillors on Tuesday (13 December) and yesterday (Wednesday 14 December).
Mr Reid said that Brighton and Hove City Council usually increased rents by the consumer prices index measure of inflation plus 1 per cent.
This would have meant increases of 11 per cent or 12 per cent without the government cap.
A “double-digit” increase was something that Mr Reid said would be hard to recommend to councillors who are due to discuss the council’s housing budget at a meeting next month.
Mr Reid said: “That brings us some challenges because our rent is set not to make a profit but to cover our costs – and our costs are going up due to inflation and other factors.
“It’s really very important we don’t put our tenants in a position where, in particular, due to the ‘cost of living crisis’, they are paying significantly increased rents.
“It is important that we recognise that people who aren’t on benefits or are partially on benefits will struggle.”
In the current financial year the council’s housing revenue account (HRA) budget was £64 million, funded with £56 million from tenants’ rents, and allocated to
- investment in existing homes £19.3 million
- resources for capital investment £19.7 million
- management and support services £14 million
- supporting tenants £8.7 million
- maintaining communal areas £1.5 million
- new housing supply £700,000
…
Residents were worried about the cost of heating for people with communal systems.
Mr Reid said that heating bills had gone up by up to 45 per cent but the service charge increases would be phased over two years to make the rise more manageable for residents.
At the housing management panel meeting for Hove and Portslade yesterday, Knoll residents’ representative Pat Weller spoke out about funding for youth services.
Mrs Weller, a director of the Hangleton and Knoll Project, urged the council to continue contributing to the cost of youth services from the HRA.
She said: “Tackling anti-social behaviour by young people has been a massive success down to the little bit of money we get from the housing revenue account.
“These young people are our future. If we don’t work with them on anti-social behaviour now, they could become the future anti-social tenants.”
Labour councillor John Allcock, who chaired the meeting, said that it was an example of investing now to save later.
Councillor Allcock said: “Small investment pays off, particularly with preventative aspects of the work.
“I know it’s going to be challenging with the whole council budget going forward, how we are able to maintain non-statutory services versus the services we have to provide.”
Residents’ representatives backed increasing the HRA contribution to youth services from £250,000 to £375,000 in 2019.
The money supports the Trust for Developing Communities’ youth work in Moulsecoomb, Patcham, Whitehawk, Woodingdean, Saltdean and Rottingdean.
It also helps to fund youth services at the Hangleton and Knoll Project, LGBTQ+ organisation Allsorts, the Black and Minority Ethnic Young People’s Project, the disability group Extratime and Brighton Youth Centre.
The Housing Committee is due to discuss the HRA budget for 2023-24 at Hove Town Hall on Wednesday 18 January. The meeting is scheduled to start at 4pm and to be webcast on the council’s website.
