Lib Dem Council House Rent Increase Motion

Speech by Cllr Sue Galloway on Thu 22nd Jan 2009

Lord mayor

There is no denying that we are living in difficult economic times. Whatever the causes, the government should have the courage to ditch, postpone or change some of its current policies.

One such is the area of rent convergence where the government decided that rent levels should move to a government set target across the country by 2012 and that similar properties should be charged similar rents regardless of who owns the property.

The rent is notional and assumes that a local authority is receiving HRA subsidy. Everyone knows that this is not the case in York and that over the last three years more than £16.5 million has been taken from York tenants to subsidise rent levels in other parts of the country - mainly in the south.

Under the current proposals, based on the inflation figure last September, rent levels should actually increase by 7.7% in York. However the government has decided that, for one year only, the convergence deadline is extended to 2023/24 and then this would mean a rent increase in 2009/10 in York of 6%. - An average rent increase of £3.58 per week.

Lord mayor we have little choice but to implement the governments proposals - we have to give tenants statutory notice of this and it is unlikely that the government will make any changes within the next week.

Even if we decided to unilaterally impose a lower percentage, the government will assume that we are still collecting at the 6% level. The loss of income would need to be met from the balance on the housing revenue account - not from any other reserves.

I think our motion is the best way forward and I urge you to support this and reject the labour motion.