WAVERLEY Borough Council tenants can expect to see a rise in their rent for the financial year 2007/08. Waverley's executive has agreed to recommend to the full council that rents are increased by 3.9 per cent for the coming year. Government accounting rules mean that WBC's tenants will be paying more than £9 million in housing subsidy to the government in 2007/ 08. The money will not be available to be spend on housing locally, especially in helping to achieve the government's 'Decent Homes' standard for all tenants' homes. Ken Reed, portfolio holder for housing, said: "We are disappointed that we cannot keep rents even lower, and it is hoped that this below-inflation increase will have a minimal impact on our tenants; unfortunately government rules work against us, and, with around 40 per cent of tenants' rent now having to be given to the government for distribution elsewhere, this causes major problems in paying for council housing services." Waverley has recommended that £6.5 million be spent on improving council houses during the next financial year, with the main priorities being health and safety works, decent homes improvements and adaptation for tenants with disabilities. Mr Reed continued: "While I am pleased that we are proposing to bring additional spending forward to this year from future years, this level of spending will be unsustainable because the government is now also taking 75 per cent of the money that the council gets from selling council houses. This is money that will no longer be available to Waverley to invest in providing homes which meet the decent homes standard." Waverley is also proposing to invest £841,000 in affordable homes for key workers and other priority groups. The council will consider the recommendations on rents and capital spending at its meeting on February 25.
