Rent for West Dunbartonshire council homes is set to rise by 2% in the coming financial year following approval from elected members.
During this week’s full council meeting, it was agreed that rent for 2022/23 would increase at an average of £1.65 over a 52 week period.
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Rent for the travellers site will also increase by 2% but the existing level of lock-up rent will remain the same at £5.44 a week.
During the meeting, labour leader councillor Martin Rooney asked why the rent of a lock-up was not going up and that he believed a small increase would not “burst the bank”.
He said: “I am happy to accept these recommendations as I think a 2% rise in rent is very reasonable given the situation with inflation and the cost of living.
“We seem reluctant to raise lock-up charges. Had we done that at 2% the £5.44 a week would have gone up to £5.55 which is not busting the bank I don’t think.
“We leave the rent increase for the lock-up for some reason and over time it is out of kilter with the costs of the lockup which have then fallen into ruin and disrepair which are subsequently knocked down.”
The council is the landlord for 10,000 homes located in communities across West Dunbartonshire.
Council officers are reluctant to increase the cost of keeping a lock-up because of the poor standards of their upkeep which need to be addressed first.
Council leader Jonathan McColl added: “The point councillor Rooney makes about lock-up rents is a good one and I do want to give council reassurance that it was considered.
“As a council we will no doubt look at it again in future years but I would also say that while we have a cost of living crisis it is appropriate to keep the status quo for now. We want to limit the hit on people’s money as much as possible before we hit this incredibly hard period.”
