Maximum rent increase approved for social housing tenants

Alec Doyle, local democracy reporter

Social housing tenants will face the maximum 2.7% rent increase allowed by Welsh Government as a local authority’s Housing and Communities Department wrestles with increasing costs.

But the increase will not offset additional expenditure on decarbonisation mandated by the Welsh Government – with councillors demanding more support from the Senedd.

Flintshire Councillors have approved a Housing Revenue Account report which recommended a 2.7% increase in social housing rent for 2025/26.

Maximum cap

That is the maximum cap for social rent increases in Wales next year – calculated by adding 1% to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) from September last year.

That means a social housing tenant receiving no housing benefit will pay an additional £193 on average next year. Those on partial housing benefit will see their annual rent bill increase by £128.

Garage rents will also increase by 2.7%.

The spending plan also revealed building new social housing and completing major repairs on existing stock will be Flintshire’s biggest expense next year, costing the authority £28 million.

Upgrading empty properties to Welsh Housing Quality Standards (WHQS) to re-let them to tenants will cost an additional £6.8m.

These are the largest costs the Housing and Communities Department has in its budget and the report indicated that a significant reason for that is the investment in decarbonisation – making homes more energy-efficient.

Decarbonisation

Decarbonisation is part of the WHQS and is a priority for the Welsh Government. In light of the budget report Flintshire councillors challenged the Senedd to come up with more money to ease the burden of a policy it has imposed.

Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities Cllr Helen Brown said: “Decarbonisation is fantastic but we’ve got to have the funding to be able to achieve it.”

Cllr Sean Bibby added: “While we agree with the Welsh Government’s ambition on decarbonisation, it needs to be in line with reality and what we can afford to deliver.

“There is a responsibility on Welsh Government to ensure they are providing adequate funding to meet the challenge of decarbonisation and to provide the quality and standard that our council tenants deserve.”