Tenants extra
Campaigners claim the poor are being hit hardest and footing bill for council tax freeze for wealthy
SCOTS council house tenants are footing the bill for steep rent rises at a time of huge pressure on family budgets.
Increases of up to eight per cent have been pushed through while the SNP government bankrolls a council tax freeze.
Aditi Jehangir, secretary of the Living Rent trade union, said: “Freezing council tax whilst letting councils increase rents clearly shows that council tenants are not a priority for the Scottish Government.
“It is shocking the government is continuing to ignore the needs of tenants while the wealthiest households are able to enjoy a council tax freeze. The Scottish Government needs to enable councils to freeze rents and to ensure councils are able to properly fund public services.”
Humza Yousaf is under sustained pressure after he allocated at least £147million for a national council tax freeze.
Anti-poverty groups say the policy benefits people who live in the biggest homes and gives the poorest no financial benefit.
Figures obtained by the Record show the tax freeze stands in contrast to rent rises for council tenants. Edinburgh council tenants will see their bills rise by seven per cent while
for renters with Wheatley Homes Glasgow, the city’s biggest social landlord, the figure is 7.5 per cent. The increase in Midlothian is 4.8 per cent, seven per cent for North Lanarkshire and 6.5 per cent in neighbouring South Lanarkshire.
Tenants in the East Dunbartonshire local authority face a 4.8 per cent rise, taking the average weekly rent from £86.07 to £90.20. Highland Council renters will see a 7.95 per cent increase while council rents will go up five per cent in Falkirk. The figure in East Lothian is seven per cent, 6.5 per cent in East Ayrshire, 4.5 per cent in South Ayrshire and 3.5 per cent in West Lothian. Tenants in Stirling, as well as renters in Perth and Kinross, will pay six per cent more. Although rents are set by cash-strapped councils, a local authority source said the government could have passed a pandemic-style rent freeze law.
The insider also said the Government could have used the cash for a council tax freeze to keep rents lower.
Roz Foyer, general secretary of the STUC, said: “Social housing tenants, including those who are likely exempt from council tax and don’t benefit from the freeze, look set to have their rents hiked up as local authorities scramble to make ends meet.
It’s an abdication of responsible governance for the Scottish Government to continue down this road.
“Make no mistake: the cost of the council tax freeze is being met by cuts to public services and increased charges such as this hike in rent for council house tenants who can ill afford it.
“Despite repeated warnings on the damaging impact of their regressive council tax freeze, the Scottish Government seem ignorantly hell-bent on pursuing a policy that benefits the wealthiest and does little to alleviate poverty.”
Peter Kelly, director of the Poverty Alliance, said: “At the last budget, the Scottish Government had a chance to turn justice and compassion into concrete action to help people struggling on low incomes. There were some welcome measures but on the whole, it failed to make a fundamental change. The council tax freeze is costing all of us around £100million but equates to savings of only 53p per week for the lowest income households. Wealthier households are the ones that will benefit most.
“That’s not a good use of public money, when people are struggling to deal with rising costs, including rising rents.
“The freeze will also lead to more cuts in council services that we all rely on but which are often a lifeline for people on low incomes. That includes housing services, who are often struggling to deliver repairs and maintenance for tenants.”
A spokesperson for council umbrella group Cosla said: “Our position on the council tax freeze is clear – we opposed the policy. It is up to democratically elected councillors to set their own levels of local taxation.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The council tax freeze will benefit council tax payers in Scotland at a time when prices are still putting significant strain on household finances.
“There are a number of legal requirements and checks in place in relation to social sector rent levels, including a requirement through the Social Housing Charter for social landlords to set rent at a level tenants can afford.”
tax freeze will lead to more cuts in council services PETER KELLY DIRECTOR AT POVERTY ALLIANCE