Burden of 7% increase will fall on a third of families under ‘Coalition onslaught’
Published: 10 February, 2011
by RICHARD OSLEY
Tenants told: ‘Your rent will go up – and it’s going to hurt’
TENANTS have been told to expect a dramatic hike in council house rents.
Politicians from the main parties are resigned to the fact that families living on Camden’s estates face a rise of about 7 per cent. Labour councillors have claimed the increase has been forced on them by the coalition government as part of a wider strategy to make up gaps left by public spending cuts.
They argue that subsidies for council housing are being reduced by Whitehall at a time when rents will rise significantly.
Labour housing chief Councillor Julian Fulbrook said the council had been locked into a “legal straitjacket” by the government on the issue of rents.
“The relentless drive by the Con-Dem government away from subsidy for affordable homes inevitably means more of a burden on our tenants,” he added.
“In the past, governments of all hues thought of this as a wise investment to protect the poor.
“While about two-thirds of our tenants in Camden are somewhat protected from the Cameron-Clegg onslaught, because they are wholly or partly on housing benefit, that leaves a third of families who will be very badly squeezed. Those tenants are in effect paying for this major shift.”
Labour fears there is pressure to bring council rents closer to those in the private sector.
But Councillor Chris Naylor, Lib Dem housing spokesman, said: “The 7.1 per cent rent hike is going to be tough but Labour councillors are completely wrong to blame the Coalition. The basis for the calculation was set by Labour and is exactly the same as when Labour were in charge centrally.
“The rent increase is higher than last year because Labour’s spendthrift legacy has meant higher inflation. But the good news is that the Coalition is scrapping Labour’s old Stalinist housing finance system so Camden will have more flexibility to set rents locally in future.”
Councillor Andrew Mennear, leader of the Conservatives in Camden, challenged Labour councillors to say where they would make alternative savings.
“We acknowledge it will be difficult for some families but I understand that the level of rents will be capped in some examples and that only a small number will actually see a 7 per cent rise,” he said.