Rents will not rise in 2019 for council tenants
COUNCIL house rents in Moray will be frozen for the next 12 months.
The local authority has decided it can fund its programme of building new 70 houses annually without increasing rents by between 4% and 5% as it has done in previous years.
A report to its Communities Committee stated that a number of factors over the past two financial years have worked in the council's favour.
These include lower borrowing costs and low rent arrears.
Councillor Louise Laing, the committee's chairwoman, said: “While the majority of tenants previously accepted the increase on the basis that it would help fund new-build housing, a recent survey showed that affording rent and heat were still issues for a large number of households.
“The Scottish Housing Regulator requires local authorities to take the views of tenants into consideration when setting rent increases.
“The committee considered their views and I am pleased that we agreed to freeze rents at the current levels for 2019/20.”
The average council house rent based is £59.84 a week.
