Hartlepool council leader says rent rise will increase number of 'good quality affordable homes'

The rise will mean properties under Hartlepool Borough Council’s housing revenue account (HRA) will on average pay an extra £5.31 per week in rent in 2023-24.

Council chiefs said the increase is needed to ensure a “robust and sustainable” HRA, which is a separate ring-fenced account for the local authority.

It will also help the number of properties by 110 to 418 - an increase of 36% - and allow “more people to live in good quality affordable homes”.

Around two thirds of tenants are in receipt of benefits towards their rent and therefore all or part of their increase is set to be funded by Government.

A meeting of the full council has approved the rise by 16 votes to 11.

Councillor Shane Moore, the leader of the council, noted the increase is below the 7% maximum limit allowed by Government.

He said: “We’ve looked carefully on the inflationary pressures facing the HRA and the need to ensure its sustainability, on this basis a 5% increase is recommended.

“If we want a sustainable HRA and to increase the number of good quality homes we need to maintain rental income.

“I would love to say that we don’t need to increase rents and can simply make the impact of inflation on the HRA disappear. However this isn’t possible or realistic.”

Last month finance officers said the council previously froze rents in 2020-21 and 2021-22, and doing so again, or having a smaller increase, “isn’t a hit they could take”.