Rents on the rise in Slough
Unpopular change agreed at cabinet meeting
Social housing rents and service charges are set to rise by more than seven per cent in Slough after members agreed the change at a cabinet meeting this week.
At the meeting at Observatory House on Monday night, officers warned councillors that if the increases in line with Government guidance were not made, the authority would be
‘bringing in less money than is going out and the service will deteriorate’.
The proposal looked to increase social and affordable housing rent by 7.7 per cent from April 1.
The council said this is in line with the current national rent setting formula.
Under the changes, the tenant service charges would also increase by 7.7 per cent from April 1, in line with inflation and to recover additional costs currently being incurred due to the costs of services.
Garage rents for both council and private tenants and leaseholders would also increase by 7.7 per cent from April 1.
At the meeting Patrick Hayes, executive director for regeneration, housing and environment, said: “For our average tenant, this represents an increase of £9 a week.
“The service charge is just over 80 pence a week.
“Sixty-four per cent of our tenants are on some form of housing benefit, so again, they will get that money back effectively through their benefit claim.”
He added: “We did have four years of a one per cent rise from 2015 onwards up to the start of COVID, which effectively meant that a real term rent reduction against actual costs and clearly around service charges, we are still not recovering the full cost given the very high increase in energy prices over the last couple of years, though these are starting to come down.
“So over time we should get back to an equilibrium position.
“If we don’t follow government rent restructuring advice and guidance, we will effectively be bringing in less money than is going out and the service will deteriorate.
“So we do need I think to be cognisant of ever-increasing costs and now the effects of 20 years of rent restructuring.”
Leader of the council, Dexter Smith (Con, Colnbrook and Poyle) said councillors understood Mr Hayes’ message and added that while the authority does not like increasing rates, it needed to be done to maintain service levels.
He said: “We get the message. We don't like putting up the rates, but this is with inflation.
“But also, it is a way of ensuring that we carry on providing the appropriate level of service and don’t see a decline in service levels.”