Council house rent rise on top of energy price increase

The rent on council owned houses is set to rise by 6.28% and on top of that council home owners will also have to cope with an average £13.52 increase on heating charges.

The price rises have been set out in the draft budget of the Housing Revenue Account for 2009/10 and have been accepted by councillors across the four Rochdale townships.
 
The council says that they will not be making any profit from the increased heating charge and that council home owners were still getting a good deal on services compared with private domestic prices.

Meanwhile the rent increase is in line with the notional rent increase set by national Government. The Government is currently consulting with the local authority on the 2009/10 housing subsidy settlement, which includes options for rent increases within its overall rent restructuring policy.

The Council could lose out on Government subsidies if it sets the rent increase lower than the notional increase set by Government guidelines.

Rochdale Online first reported on the proposed rent and service increases in December:

Council house rent to go up