Portsmouth council tenants face rent and service charge increases

Portsmouth City Council’s cabinet member for housing and tackling homelessness, Councillor Darren Sanders, is expected to decide on whether to increase on February 3.

The council, under the name Portsmouth Homes, acts as a landlord to 17,000 properties across the city and in Havant, Fareham, Gosport and Winchester.

In order to maintain services such as repairs and safety inspections, housing providers, such as councils and housing associations, are likely to increase rents in line with inflation.

The council can raise rent by a maximum of 4.8 per cent (September CPI plus one per cent) however, this is below the 6.1 per cent needed to maintain services.

To bridge the gap, the council has suggested drawing on its reserves.

A 4.8 per cent rise would push average council rents from £112.53 a week to £117.14. For tenants, that is an extra £4.61 a week or around £240 per year.

Alongside rent, the council is also proposing changes to service charges. These are the fees tenants and leaseholders pay to cover shared services in and around their buildings, such as communal areas.

Service charges are split between two levels. A lower rate applies to people living in houses and bungalows, while a higher rate is paid by those in flats and maisonettes who receive additional services.

Charges for sheltered housing are also set to increase. Depending on the level of support provided, rises of between 4.2 and 5.7 per cent are being proposed.

Tenants in blocks with electric heating are facing increases of between £2 and £3 a week, which the council says is down to rising fixed standing charges set by energy suppliers.

Cllr Sanders said: “Portsmouth’s housing service faces an income capped by government and costs that have no such cap. Add to that, changes in the law and regulation and it is a challenging environment. I always give this important issue very careful consideration, and this year will be no different.”

Resident feedback was mixed – some tenants said the rent rise was expected or acceptable, with a small number describing the service as good and the charges as reasonable.

However, a larger number of responses raised objections, particularly from working tenants and pensioners.

Many said their incomes are not rising in line with costs and that rent increases, alongside council tax, energy bills and service charges, are pushing household budgets to breaking point. Several pensioners said any rent rise would cancel out their pension increase entirely.

One pensioner said they were living on a small income and could not afford to have their heating or lights on, despite having “worked all my life & paid into the system”.

They said pensioners were being “punished” and warned they could be forced to “find a full-time job, or be made homeless”.

If agreed, the new rents and charges will come into effect from March 30.