The average monthly council rent in Barking and Dagenham is expected to increase by £33 in 2024/25.
Barking and Dagenham Council intends to raise council rent by 7.7 percent, with the average council rent rising from £108.72 to £117.07 per week.
This implies that the average council rent will rise by £8.35 each week, amounting to around £33.40 per month.
The council has supplied the average weekly rent increase, which is based on the number of bedrooms in the house.
- Studios: £6.34 per week
- One-beds: £6.98 per week
- Two-beds: £8.38 per week
- Three-beds: £9.23 per week
- Four-beds: £9.92 per week
- Five-beds: £10.21 per week
Most tenants receiving housing benefit or universal credit will have their rental rise compensated by a higher benefit payment.
According to cabinet documents, the rent increase will assist the council to manage its existing housing stock while also continuing to address damp and mouldy homes.
The council maintains 16,407 homes and offers services to 3,925 leaseholders.
According to the documents, the rent rise will guarantee that the council’s Housing Revenue Account (HRA) remains balanced for the coming year. The HRA covers the costs of managing and maintaining council-owned housing, as well as funding new council housing.
The HRA is a ring-fenced account that cannot rely on government funds, council tax revenue, or the general budget.
The report noted: “The operating environment remains challenging for the council’s HRA with higher running cost from the historically high inflation of recent years, which peaked 11.1pc in October 2022.
“Coupled with this are difficulties with supply chains following Brexit, recent geopolitical confrontations and tensions and human resource shortages.”
It continued: “Additional to these are newly introduced fire regulations, problems with cladding highlighted by Grenfell, recent damp and mould issues and the global pandemic all converge to form the context within which these budgets are proposed.”
The council estimates it will make around £6.3million from the increased rent and after it has adjusted to changes in stock numbers from the right-to-buy scheme and the estate renewal programme.
The plans will be discussed during a cabinet meeting next week (Tuesday, January 23).
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