Lib Dems to push for council house rent freeze (East of England Liberal Democrats)

East of England Liberal Democrats <info@eastlibdems.org.uk>

Lib Dems to push for council house rent freeze

February 14, 2012 10:54 AM
Originally published by St Albans Liberal Democrats

When the Budget of St Albans City & District Council is discussed at the next Council meeting on Thursday 23rd February, the Liberal Democrat group will push for a freeze in council house rents, instead of the Conservatives' proposed 8.3% increase.

The previous rules governing the amount that the Council can charge council tenants, which applied until recently, meant that the Council would have been penalised for variation from the formula set by Whitehall. These rules have been changed by the Coalition to allow greater local flexibility. While the Conservative administration at the District Council is content to accept the Whitehall-recommended guidelines for rent increases, local Lib Dems are convinced that there should be no rise at all next year.

Cllr Roger Axworthy, Lib Dem Council Resources Spokesperson, explained: "We are well aware that many household budgets are being squeezed at the moment. Many of our hard-pressed tenants could do with a financial break to help. This is especially true for those tenants who are working but who earn just too much to qualify for housing benefit. Our proposal to keep rents in 2012/13 at the same level as this financial year will be very good news for them - provided that we can get this agreed at the Council budget meeting next week."

The Lib Dem proposal could go ahead if they got the support of the other parties. "I would hope that we can get their support when it comes to this crucial vote," said Cllr Robert Donald, Leader of the Lib Dem Council Group. "I do think they should agree that increasing council housing rents at almost double the current rate of inflation (4.8%) just doesn't make sense, especially as we have identified how we can afford to freeze them and still ensure that future improvements to tenants' homes are achieved as planned. Tenants need help now to provide some much-needed relief from the financial pressures on tight family budgets."

The Liberal Democrats have identified other sources of capital funding that the council is expecting to receive, as well as savings on interest payments, to replace the loss of rental income currently budgeted. This funding will ensure that future improvements to existing homes can still be achieved as planned and that this rent freeze can be afforded. Day-to-day repairs for tenants will also not be affected.

"For the last three years, councillors have had no real means of preventing rents going up above inflation, because of the financial rules and penalties imposed by central government - however much we were against these", said Cllr David Poor, Lib Dem Housing Spokesperson on the Council. "But now, because of the Coalition's new funding arrangements for Council housing and localism we have greater freedom and the flexibility to decide to have no increase for a year. For this year, in these times, I am sure this would be the right decision to help those who need it now."