RENTS in social and affordable housing operated by Cornwall Council is to increase as part of the tranche of measures as the authority seeks to balance its books.

Councillors voted to accept a proposal to see rents increase by the maximum permissible by legislation.

In the debate, which followed the council’s decision to narrowly approve a budget which will see £48,711,202 of savings, Cllr Olly Monk, the portfolio holder for housing, explained the rationale behind the increase.

He explained that as present, social rents for housing owned by Cornwall Council is among the cheapest in the United Kingdom, and while they sought to increase the amount by the maximum permissible, it represented a smaller increase compared to other areas which had more expensive housing in the same category.

Councillors asked Cllr Monk about various aspects of the Cornwall housing policy, including repairs and the proposed sell-off of council properties which require repairs greater than £50,000.

Cllr Monk explained that the properties in question required a level of work to reach a Decent Homes Standard, required before re-letting the properties which meant it was uneconomic for the council to repair, in addition to the requirement to ‘tender’ for the work.

It was proposed that the rent for both social and affordable tenants be increased at CPI plus one percent, meaning a rent increase of 2.7 per cent with the same increase applies for new affordable or social tenants.

Garage rents will be increased by £3.50 plus VAT where applicable.

The rent on shared ownership properties, created before 2023, will be increased by the January RPI plus 0.5 per cent - meaning a total increase of 4.1 per cent.

The proposal for service charges was that it be increased based on actual costs.

Councillors voted to approve the proposals.