RENT reductions and upgrades could be on the cards for council house tenants.
A report being considered by Rugby Borough Council proposed a one per cent rent reduction from April – which would see average weekly rents drop from £84.06 to £83.22, with service charges set to stay roughly the same.
Further proposals include heating upgrades for around 230 properties, new bathrooms in around 110 properties and new kitchens for around 220.
The council will also aim to buy 12 properties on the open market to rent to council tenants, reinvesting in housing where properties have been bought under the Right to Buy.
But reduced rent income will mean council maintenance and management costs will have to be reduced by around £500,000 per year through “reduced materials stockholding and more efficient buying practices, better use of vehicles and other resources, and changes to the way the council works with suppliers”.
The council’s communities and homes spokeswoman Coun Leigh Hunt said: “There is still a degree of uncertainty around how government policies such as the end of lifetime tenancies will affect tenants here in Rugby.
“Nevertheless tenants will be pleased to hear that we are planning to reduce rents by a further one per cent next year, and that we still intend to invest in our homes.
“Better heating, new kitchens and bathrooms, and more council-owned homes, will mean better energy efficiency and improved living standards for more Rugbeians.”
The changes will be decided at a special council meeting in February 2017.
