Double whammy rent hike and council tax rise fears
Tenants in North Lanarkshire could be hit hard financially
A councillor has expressed his fear that council tenants could be hit with a “double whammy” of a council tax increase and a rent rise this year.
Murdostoun member John Taggart outlined his fears at last week’s meeting of Coltness Community Council ahead of the crunch full council meeting later this week as the council tax freeze ends after nine years.
Councillor Taggart said: “Council tax is going up for Bands E to H with some paying as much as 22 per cent more.
“One thing that is concerning me is people who live in social housing who pay both their rents and council tax.
“In the past, before the council tax freeze, rents had went up along with council tax.
“I would like to think our people would not be hit with a “double whammy” with both their council tax going up and an increase in rents.”
In November MSPs voted to increase the amount of council tax those living in home classed as Bands E to H pay.
This means that from April 1, a Band E household in North Lanarkshire will pay £101 more in council tax in the next financial year, rising to £494 for Band H households.
However, the Scottish Government has also given councils the power to increase council tax by up to three per cent for homes in Bands A to D.
However, North Lanarkshire Council has not yet made a decision on whether it will follow the example of Edinburgh, East Renfrewshire and Borders councils who agreed rises of three per cent.
Councillor Bob Burrows, who chairs the council’s finance and customer services committee, said: “The Scottish Government proposes to increase what is called the multiplier for properties in Bands E to H.
“Councils set Band D council tax and every other band is a percentage of that figure.
“The Scottish Government changes mean that households in Bands E to H will pay more in council tax.
“This has not been well publicised by the Scottish Government and so we need residents to understand the impact for them. I would stress that this was not a decision for the council but has been decided on by the government.
“In their budget, the Scottish Government also allowed councils to increase council tax by up to three per cent.
“The council has not yet made any decision on this.”
“We have not yet decided what to do in terms of any council-agreed increase.
“We do know that the majority of people in last year’s major budget consultation said they would be willing to pay more council tax to fund local services.
“But we still have work to do on our budget before we make any decisions.”