Council rents to rise by average of £9 a week in South Cambridgeshire

Council home tenants in South Cambridgeshire will typically pay about £9 more a week in rent from April.

South Cambridgeshire District Council has agreed a 7.7 per cent social rent increase, taking average payments from £116.99 a week to £126 a week.

Affordable rents will also rise by 7.7 per cent, while rents for affordable shared ownership properties will increase by 5.4 per cent.

At a full council meeting last Tuesday (February 27), Cllr John Williams (Lib Dem, Fulbourn), 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.”

Cllr John Batchelor (Lib Dem, Linton) 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 noted some tenants receive benefits to cover part or all of their rent and said the average weekly rents were all “well below” the market rent and represented “extremely good value”.

Cllr Heather Williams, leader of the Conservative opposition group, said her group supported funding plans to build new council homes, but could not support the rent increases.

Cllr Williams (Con, The Mordens) 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 supported by a majority of councillors.Funding to build new council homes was unanimously approved.