Council House Rent Increases (Hansard, 6 November 1969)

§ Mr. Greenwood

The Secretary of State for Wales and I have made with the associations representing all local housing authorities except the Greater London Council the agreement set out below. The Greater London Council was also consulted, but refused to subscribe to the agreement. An extract from the letter sent to the associations and the Greater London Council on 28th October, 1969, is given below.

AGREEMENT ON INCREASES IN LOCAL AUTHORITY RENTSM

The local authority associations agree to recommend to their members that they should observe the terms of the following agreement made with the Minister of Housing and Local Government and the Secretary of State for Wales on increases in rent for dwellings included in Housing Revenue Accounts. The agreement will run from 1st January, 1970. until 30th June, 1971.

1. Subject to the following paragraph, standard rent should only be increased to the extent necessary to meet unavoidable increases in costs falling to be met in the period covered by the agreement, or the introduction or improvement of rent rebate schemes. A reduction in a rate fund contribution should not normally be regarded as an increase in costs ; but in exceptional cases, where rent restraint has led to abnormal increases in a rate fund contribution in recent years, special consideration might be given.
2. Save in exceptional circumstances, in any 52-week period no general increase in standard rent should involve an average increase of more than 7s. 6d. a week for all dwellings whose rent is increased. Similarly, in any 52-week period, no increase in standard rent for any individual dwelling, whether made as part of a general increase or not, should be of more than 10s. a week. It would be against the spirit of the agreement to vary the terms of any existing rent rebate scheme in order to increase rental income.

NOTES:

(a) Standard rent is the rent for a dwelling excluding payment for rates, water rates, furniture and services. Any increase in a separate charge for services, however should not be greater than the amount necessary to cover the increase in the cost of that service since the charge was last fixed.
(b) A rent increase is an increase in standard rent charged to the existing tenant of a dwelling.
(c) If there have been previous general increases in standard rent within any 52-week period ending on the date of the new increase, then the relevant average and individual increases in standard rent when added together, and not averaged over the 52-week period, should not exceed the limits of 7s. 6d. a week for average increases and 10s. a week for increases for individual dwellings.

174W

EXTRACT FROM LETTER SENT TO THE ASSOCIATIONS AND GREATER LONDON COUNCIL ON 28TH OCTOBER, 1969.

You will no doubt have noticed the statement in the Speech from the Throne on the opening of the new session of Parliament said that the Government would introduce legislation "to continue in modified form powers to limit increases in house rents ".

This follows the discussions with the Local Authority Associations for England and Wales and the Greater London Council which were opened by the Minister for Planning and Land on 10th September last.

The Association of Municipal Corporations, the London Boroughs Association, the Rural District Councils Association and the Urban District Councils Association have all indicated that they are prepared to recommend their members to accept the draft agreement governing rent increases for the period 1st January, 1970, to 30th June, 1971, enclosed with Brain's letter of 16th September. The Greater London Council have however said that they are not prepared to subscribe to such an agreement.

The Minister had hoped that the proposals put to the Associations and the Greater London Council—namely that rent increases should not normally exceed limits specified in an agreement and in any case should not be greater than may be needed to cover unavoidable increases in costs—would seem so reasonable to all the authorities concerned that they would be accepted all round. It was in this expectation that he felt able to suggest that the powers he might seek for the period after 1st January, 1970. might be limited to reserve powers of control over increases in excess of the amounts specified in the agreement. He is accordingly disappointed that there should still be one dissentient voice among the local authority interests consulted. However, he does not think it would be right to alter, on account of the views of one housing authority, proposals which the associations representative of all the others consider acceptable ; and I therefore write to inform you that the proposals for legislation will be based on the associations' acceptance of the draft agreement which has been put to them.