Falkirk council house rents will rise by two per cent in April

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Rents for council house tenants in Falkirk will rise by two per cent this year, councillors have agreed. A meeting of Falkirk Council today (Thursday) heard it was thought to be the lowest rent rise of any announced by Scottish local authorities this year.

The two per cent rise had been expected by tenants as this is the final year of a three-year agreement with them following a consultation. Read more: Falkirk council tax could rise by seven per cent to plug gap The SNP's housing portfolio holder, Councillor Gary Bouse, said: "This fulfils the administration, and council's agreement with the tenants of Falkirk Council."He said it also fell well within the Scottish Government's bill to protect tenants against the cost of living crisis, which means rents cannot rise any higher than £5 a week.Councillor Bouse praised housing officers for their work, saying the council having the fifth lowest rent; the 15th highest level of repairs and improvement expenditure per house; and the seventh lowest supervision and management costs was to be commended.The rent rise, he said, was also necessary to make sure that work to improve energy efficiency, such as new windows and doors, could continue.A report to councillors highlights that a two per cent hike will mean an average increase of £1.47, taking the average weekly rent to £74.82.Members heard that all of the council's spending on housing must be self-financing through its rents.But there was an awareness that any kind of rise just now could be very difficult for some tenants and rent arrears are currently very high.A Scottish Government ban on evictions has also increased the number of people in rent arrears and councillors agreed to create a £250,000 fund to help people