Highland Rent Increases Pegged at £3 Per Week

A council house rent increase of £3.09 per week is being recommended by The Highland Council’s Housing and Social Work Committee.

The average council house rent will rise from £58.29 to £61.38 per week if the full Council ratifies the recommendation at its meeting on Thursday 14 February. Rent payments are made over 48 weeks.

The proposed increase is 5.3% - the retail price index (as at November 2007) of 4.3%, plus 1%. Since 2001, the Council has pegged increases to RPI plus 1%. The Committee recommended that £321,000 of balances be used to maintain this trend.

The Committee will also be asking the Council to step up the campaign to lobby the UK Government, through the Treasury, to write off the Council housing debt of £160 million.

Committee Chairman Councillor Margaret Davidson said: “Thanks to good housekeeping, we have been able to contain the rent increase to just over £3. 

“The housing debt is an albatross around our necks and we must maintain our efforts to persuade the Treasury to write off this debt.  What a boost it would be for our tenants as it would release much-needed funding for maintenance of our stock of 14,000 houses.”