Council rent rises to be cut across Hampshire

Housing Minister Margaret Beckett has announced extra cash to help local authorities cut their planned rent increases to help tenants during the recession.

It follows lobbying from tenants and councillors from Southampton and Winchester and Southampton’s Itchen MP and Skills Minister John Denham, who urged the council to accept the deal.

The rent rises are part of complicated rules set down by Government to bring council house rents in line with housing associations by 2024.

Weekly average rents were set to go up about 6 per cent to £66 in Southampton and £86 in Winchester.

Now the average guideline will be halved from 6.2 per cent to 3.1 per cent for local authority tenants – reducing rises from rents from around £4 to £2 a week.

Mrs Beckett said: “We are facing challenging economic times and it is right that this Government offers real help now to council tenants.

We have listened to what councils and their tenants have said to us about the planned rent increases, and we are determined to help tenants get a fair and affordable deal.”

The minister has already indicated that she will look again at the guideline rents for 2010/11 to ensure that council tenants continue to pay rents that are “affordable and fair”.

Councillor Phil Williams, Cabinet member for housing at Southampton City Council, said: “We do welcome this change but it’s the Government’s policy that is increasing the rents. We have been making that case incredibly strongly. It’s tribute to the work of the council tenants.”

Labour housing spokesman Councillor Warwick Payne added: “All the main parties in Southampton have called for Westminster to give the city’s tenants a fairer deal.

“We now have clear evidence that the message is getting through, and the Government is moving to provide real help to council tenants.”

Mr Denham added: “I am delighted with the way that the Government has responded to my representations and those of other Labour MPs.”