DCSIMG

Council house rents in Bourne and the Deepings are set to rise after budget talks


Published on Saturday 4 February 2012 13:00

RENTS for council houses in Bourne and the Deepings could be increased.

South Kesteven District Council is proposing to hike the rents by an average of 7.65 per cent from April, which would mean an average weekly rent would cost £71.

It will discuss the proposal at its cabinet on Tuesday, having consulted with residents.

The cabinet will also discuss plans to take out a 30-year loan to cover the costs of paying £122m to the Government to help clear the national housing debt.

The district council currently pays £7m a year into a pot from council rents and receipts from land sales, which is then redistributed to councils based on need.

But this is being scrapped in April and all the councils which pay into the pot are being asked to clear the debt. They will then be responsible for their own council housing stock, which is worth £138m.

It is thought the district council could be better off as without interest £122m over 30 years works out at just over £4m.

District council leader Linda Neal (Con) said: “We don’t know what the borrowing rate is going to be at the end of March and there is a whole host of options we have to consider about how to pay it back but we are being told that our housing revenue account should be financially better off.”

Coun Neal said the council would get more details in March.

Local authorities which transferred their stock to housing associations will not have to contribute towards the debt.

South Kesteven District Council consulted with its tenants in 2006 on transferring its stock to a housing association but the result was an overwhelming “no”.


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