Rent hike proposed for Blackpool council tenants

Council house tenants in Blackpool look set to be hit by a 4.1 per cent increase in their rents this year – the third year running the council has imposed rent rises.
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Members of the council’s ruling executive are being ask to agree the increase for 2022/23, which is around one per cent above inflation, when they meet on Monday (January 24).

A town hall report says the action is “essential in order to deliver the level of investment needed in our existing and future social housing stock, meeting the needs and expectations of our tenants.”

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The proposed increase will generate an additional £713,000 to invest back into the town’s 5,000 council properties managed by Blackpool Coastal Housing.

New council houses being built at Troutbeck CrescentNew council houses being built at Troutbeck Crescent
New council houses being built at Troutbeck Crescent

It means weekly rents will increase to £72.97 from around £70 currently, but the report says Blackpool will still have some of the lowest council house rents in the country, with most tenants having their rents paid partially or fully by housing benefit.

It adds between 2016 and 2020, rents had decreased by one per cent a year, which had meant “a significant fall in the amount of funding available for

potential investment in council housing in Blackpool.”

Had rents increased in line with inflation over recent years, they would now be around £78 a week.

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The report adds: “Blackpool rents will continue to be below the level at which they are expected to be, and on the last information available, were the lowest in the North West with only five authorities nationally having lower average rents for council homes.”

The council says generating additional revenue is vital in order to improve the quality of homes.

Currently £10m is being invested in building 75 new houses at Troutbeck Crescent on Mereside, while work has begun to build 131 new homes at Grange Park as part of a £20m development.

The report warns not agreeing to a rent increase “will jeopardise the viability of the new build programmes we are undertaking and important work to improve existing stock.

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“There are a number of areas where stock needs to be modernised, and there are structural issues with steel framed properties on Hawes Side for example that will require solutions beyond the existing preventative maintenance.”

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