Powys County Council has said it will be buying new council housing using an increase in the rent paid for its current properties.

In a meeting last week (January 17) Powys County Council’s cabinet agreed to a 5.36 per cent rent increase that will come in to force from April this year.

The council has said the increase “is necessary to fund the service” – including the maintenance of the existing 5,500 council homes and to support a growing programme of building new council homes.

The rent rise was one of a raft of new charges approved by the cabinet. This covered a range of services such as grounds maintenance, communal cleaning, heating, washing lines, tv aerials, sewerage treatment and fire safety work.

Councillor James Gibson-Watt, Leader of Powys County Council, said: “Our growing programme of building new council homes and our maintenance investment plans for our existing council homes will help us build a stronger, fairer, greener Powys.

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“This below-inflation rent increase will ensure that we can invest in our housing stock and while increasing the number of council houses in our communities by building high-quality council homes.

The rise in rent is set to be well below the rate of inflation after Powys County Council’s Cabinet agreed to increase council house rent by 5.36 per cent – equating to an average of £5.16 per week. The council also announced that rent for council garages will also increase by 84p per week.

Councillor Gibson-Watt, however, defended the rise in costs and said that the council still offered good value for money and said: “Council rents in Powys remain amongst the lowest of any landlord working in the county yet offer tenants the most security.”