Fife council tenants given their say on proposed rent rise

Ken Gourlay, Head of Housing (Asset and Facilities Management), John Mills, Head of Housing and Councillor Judy Hamilton, executive spokesman for Housing and Building Services

The three options are An increase of 2.5 per cent on rents, increasing the current average rent by £1.64 per week to £67.22 per week; an increase of 3.0 per cent increasing the current average rent by £1.97 per week to £67.55 per week and an increase of 3.5 per cent increasing the current average rent by £2.30 per week to £67.88 per week.

Councillor Judy Hamilton, executive spokesman for Housing and Building Services said the options have been laid out and it is now up to tenants to offer their thoughts on the proposals.

She said: “At the annual gathering in October, we presented suggestions for rent next year.

“It’s great that tenants are looking seriously at the proposals. We are very clear about what each option could mean for tenants, and how we pay for the level of service they would like to receive; and we ask tenants to give us their views.

“These views help Fife Council decide the budget for Housing Services.

“All tenants will soon be receiving their tenant newsletter “Down Your Street”. In this newsletter, we have included a short survey, and I would encourage every tenant to let us know their opinions.

“Tenants’ views are really important and it is essential that we hear from as many tenants as possible, to enable us to make our decision. The survey is also available online at www.fifedirect.org.uk/rentsurvey.”

John Mills, head of Housing, said the local authority is continuing to invest in new housing and improving existing council homes.

He said: “Fife Council’s average weekly rent is £1.32 lower than the Scottish local authority average and £6.43 lower than the average for all Scottish social landlords. Our commitment to well managed estates, warm, safe houses and high quality services has been built up with tenants over many years. We continue to invest in delivering new build housing, improving existing council homes and, improving the support we provide to the most vulnerable in our communities.”

Tenants have until Friday to give their views before councillors take final budget decisions in February next year. The new rent level will be applied from April 2017.