By Andrew Topping, Local Democracy Reporter
Council home rent in Ashfield is rising by more than £200 per year from April after the district council increased rates.
The Ashfield Independent-led authority brought forward and approved its 2023/24 budget proposals on Thursday evening (March 2).
As part of the documents, a seven per cent increase in the amount its tenants will pay in rent was approved.
Only around one in four tenants will need to cover the increase in full themselves as about three in four will be helped with the rise through benefit payments.
The increase is the maximum the authority is allowed to take under Government rules and means rent fees will rise by £266.40 more per year on average.
The council says the seven per cent hike will lead to the average 48-week rental contract increasing by £5.55 to £84.86 each week.
Over the length of the contract, the total average payment for council housing in Ashfield will rise from £3,806.88 to £4,073.28.
The rise is in line with national Government guidelines on increases in social housing rent.
In most years councils are allowed to increase bills by inflation plus one per cent.
But the Government introduced the seven per cent cap in light of the cost of living crisis and sky-high inflation.
The authority says the increase will allow for improvements to be made to the existing housing stock and will allow for new social homes to be built.
And it says its rental fees remain below inflation and among the lowest of all local authorities in the county, with only Broxtowe’s housing cheaper by £1.43 per week.
Councillor John Wilmott (Ash Ind), who represents Hucknall North, spoke in Thursday’s full council meeting to defend the rent increase.
He said: “Average rents in Ashfield are £8.03 per week cheaper than the East Midlands average and this is something to be proud of.
“Housing associations are even more expensive and private rents are 46 per cent higher.
“In Ashfield, 73.63 per cent of council tenants receive some form of assistance with their rent – including benefits or Universal Credit.
“Therefore, they will not be subject to paying the full increases themselves.”
Neighbouring Mansfield District Council introduced the same seven per cent rent increase when approving its budget in January.
Opposition councillors on the Labour-run authority raised concerns as it was approved about the impact on the poorest tenants.
Labour councillors on Ashfield District Council voted against the authority’s budget but did not speak in Thursday’s meeting.
Conservative councillors abstained on the vote and also did not speak during the debate.
The council previously said these changes are needed if it wants to address issues in its housing stock and continue to build new social homes.
The wider budget was approved with 23 votes for, two against and two abstentions.
Other proposals included in the papers were a 38 per cent rise in communal heating charges for social housing tenants.
For Band A properties it will see weekly heating bills rise by £4.20 to £15.24.
The rise equates to £4.51 per week for Band B homes and takes the weekly heating charge up to £16.39.
Band C weekly heating fees will rise by £4.74 to £17.20 per week and Band D weekly charges will rise by £5.03 to £18.27 per week.
Last year, the authority enforced a five per cent increase on heating charges and the maximum increase per week was 68p.
The authority also approved a seven per cent increase in its garage fees for 2023/24.
Under this increase, Band A garages will increase weekly by 48p to £7.30 and Band B garage fees will rise by 53p to £8.15 each week.
Band C garages will also increase by 58p to £9.00, with the council expected to generate £17,000 in extra cash on currently-occupied garages.
