Birmingham council tenants face 7% rise in rent

Birmingham City Council has agreed to a 7% rise in rent for council tenants

Thousands of people living in council homes in Birmingham could see rents rise by 7% under plans to invest in social housing.

Birmingham City Council said the increase would be spent on improving homes and conducting repairs to properties.

The change could see council tenants paying an extra £30 in bills per month.

The increased rate is the maximum rents can be raised under new rules set by the government.

A recent council survey had found 61% of homes in Birmingham currently meet the government's Decent Homes Standard, which sets minimum requirements social housing is expected to meet.

It comes after the Labour-run city council was criticised by the housing ombudsman for systematically failing tenants who had complained about housing conditions.

A spokesperson for the local authority said it was aware many families were struggling with the cost of living and all tenants would receive a leaflet detailing financial support.

'Really poor state'

It added any tenants in receipt of housing benefit or universal credit would have some of the increase covered.

"As a local authority, we are very aware that much of our housing stock is over 70 years old.

"As the largest local authority social landlord [in England] with 60,000 properties, we will ensure that the money is invested in carrying out repairs and improving our portfolio," it said.

Councillor Julien Pritchard, of the Green Party, said the authority should find other ways to fund the investment instead of imposing the rent rise.

"The reality for many council tenants is that their properties are in a really poor state.

"A lot of these people will be working in low paid jobs and won't necessarily be able to find the money for this increase," he said.

Councillor Ken Wood, Conservative shadow cabinet member for housing, said the authorities should commit to improving housing stock and achieving the Decent Homes Standard of 99% by 2026.

"It really does upset me to see the standards we're expecting some of our tenants to accept," he added.