Tenants will pay more for new houses

Oct 1 2009 by Marjorie Kerr, West Lothian Courier

COUNCIL chiefs have voted to set rents for new homes at a higher rate than older houses.

West Lothian Council’s plans for its new-build houses means tenants will pay 10 per cent more than the current top rent for similar properties.

The move follows a consultation undertaken in May this year to ensure that all applicants on the housing list and all 21,000 council tenants had the opportunity to comment on proposals on the allocation and rent levels for the new homes.

Executive councillor for the community, Frank Anderson, said: “The first phase (248 houses) of our new-build programme is ahead of schedule, with the first completions now coming forward for allocation this month.

“There is a general legal requirement that rents are set at a reasonable level. Best practice suggests that the key objectives of any rent setting strategy should be to support the council’s wider commitment to social and financial inclusion and also be based on fairness and consistency – with the highest rent charged for better quality and higher amenity properties.

“In our consultation 55 per cent of respondents agreed that it is reasonable to charge a higher rent for the new build houses.”

Once rents have been set the new-build houses will be subject to the council’s annual Housing Revenue Account Budget and rent increase process, and no differential rent increases will be made for the new build properties.

Councillor Anderson added: “The new-build council house rents are still below those of other social landlords in West Lothian.

“The additional funds from the new-build homes will allow the council to fund a further additional 25 council houses to be built.

“This will mean that West Lothian Council will be heading towards building almost 800 much needed affordable rented houses. These are being built in areas of highest demand and need.”