COUNCIL house rents in Caerphilly county borough will increase by 1.5 per cent from April.

The increase will increase the weekly rent on average for council hous tenants by  £1.36, equalling £92.02 a year.

Caerphilly council's cabinet has approved the rise, which a council report says is the lowest “for a number of years”, with the average across the last seven being 3.33 per cent.

Between 2020/21 and 2024/25 councils in Wales can only increase their rents by the CPI inflation rate plus one per cent. CPI (consumer price index) is measured based on the average value of a basket of goods.

As the inflation rate in September was 0.5 per cent, 1.5 per cent was the maximum increase the council was allowed.

Council rents go towards Caerphilly’s housing revenue account (HRA), which manages the council’s stock of houses.

The council had budgeted for a 2.5 per cent increase in its business plan, and the reduction to 1.5 per cent will reduce the housing revenue account’s income by £500,000.

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The report says: “Inflationary increases on providing all aspects of the housing service are experienced annually, however as the HRA cannot legitimately set a deficit budget, the loss of additional income will result in reduced resources being available to effectively manage and maintain the stock, or result in increased levels of borrowing.”

Rent on council-owned garages will also increase by 1.5 per cent for the next financial year. Unlike council homes, these rents have not been increased for three years.

Currently the council charges £8.11 a week but 75 per cent of garage tenants are not council tenants.

For council tenants the new weekly garage charge will be £8.23 and for non-council tenants it will be £9.88.