Portsmouth City Council housing rents set to go up by more than four per cent

According to draft budget documents, rising staff costs, the soaring price of energy and Right to Buy purchases required a third year of above-inflation rent increases in the city.

Cabinet member for housing Darren Sanders said he was ‘actively looking’ for ways to reduce this figure ‘without causing further harm’ in future years but said options were limited.

'The difficulty that exists is that housing is being hit by the cost of living crisis,' he said. 'However, I want to try and find ways to lower that figure if we can before the budget is agreed.

'At the same time we are still trying to deal with the deficit we inherited from the Conservative administration which means we need to give tenants a good deal but one that doesn't cause problems further down the line.'

The increase, proposed as part of the annual budget which will be considered next month, equates to an average of £3.40 a week and would raise an extra £2.6m.

Labour spokesman for housing, councillor Cal Corkery, has called for the figure to be reduced.

He said: 'We have got to recognise that the cost of living is rising at a time when Universal Credit awards have been cut and National Insurance contributions have been increased.

'Generally, council tenants are the hardest-off financially and we should not be punishing them like this.'

He said the council should instead increase garage and parking rents by more than the proposed 3.1 per cent to help facilitate a lower housing rise.

The cabinet report proposing the hike says finances are weakened by the loss of an average of 70 homes a year through Right to Buy, the £700,000 cost of higher energy bills and a 15 per cent increase in the cost of some building supplies.

It adds that this pressure has been compounded by staff pay rises and inflation which are both higher than forecast.

Councillor Scott Payter-Harris, the Conservative spokesman for housing, said he ‘did not envy’ Cllr Sanders’ position but said the council needed to take a ‘longer-term look’ at how the department is run.

'The problem we have is that the budget is in a difficult place with the deficit it has and any decision is going to harm someone,' he said. 'The council is stuck between a rock and a hard place.

'But the only way we are going to be able to do anything is by looking much further into the future than the administration is and see what we can do in terms of efficiencies and reducing costs that way.'

Despite the difficulties, the council said its work to buy new homes had had ‘a very positive impact’ on the budget.

Between April and December, 126 were bought and 79 others are’in the pipeline’. This will be boosted by more than 1,000 others across the city that are being developed.