Council housing rent to rise by maximum allowed

Council house rents in Powys are set to rise by 2.7 per cent from April 1 which is the maximum increase allowed by the Welsh Government.

At a meeting of Powys County Council’s Liberal Democrat/Labour Cabinet on Tuesday, January 14 senior councillors will receive a report recommending that that the average rent for homes and gypsy pitches rises from £108.24 to £111.16.

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The cost of occupying a gypsy/traveller plot will also go up by 2.7 per cent from £122.09 to £125.39 a week.

Housing is funded differently to other council departments and its budget, known as the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) comes from a mixture of fees and rents paid to the authority as well as grant funding from the Welsh Government.

This increase will see the council’s HRA budget rise from £31.086 million this year to £32.069 million for 2025/2026.

The report said: “Taking into account the consultation  with the TSP (Tenants Scrutiny Panel) the challenges facing the council in managing the impacts of comparatively high inflation and challenges collecting rent, the conclusion is that a rent increase of 2.7 per cent is necessary to make sure that the Housing Service is sustainable and able to provide homes and services for both current and future tenants.

“Such an increase allows rents to remain affordable and is in line with the inflation rate for September 2024.”

The report also explains that the council’s housing service is currently buying up properties in a bid to provide more homes and bring down the current waiting list in Powys.

The report said: “The acquisitions programme is on track to increase by 10 properties.

“To date, 118 new homes have been completed since the end of the government-imposed moratorium on municipal house building, with 32 homes now under construction in Newtown.”

Similarly garage rents are also set to increase by 2.7 per cent.

The weekly cost will rise from £14.65 to £15.05 from April 1.

Despite this fee increase the money made by the council by renting out garages is set to drop from £625,140 this year to £592,370 next year.

This is because: “The garage estate is reducing over time as garages are
withdrawn from use due to condition and reducing demand.

“Wherever practical the intention is to repurpose obsolete garage sites for use as car parking or new homes.”

The report explains that the council currently has 5,548 homes and 31 gypsy/traveller pitches and says that rent is paid over a 48 week period rather than 52.

There are two “rent free” periods over Christmas and Easter.