Council tenants in East Lothian are set to benefit from a rent freeze this year

Council tenants in East Lothian are set to benefit from a rent freeze this year.

No rent rise: East Lothian Council's HQ

A draft housing budget due to be put before councillors for approval next week proposes a one-year hiatus on rent increases.

It comes a month after the council’s cabinet members approved a reduced increase of two per cent from the anticipated annual five per cent rise.

And it comes as members will be asked to consider freezing council tax charges, after the Scottish Government made funding available to local authorities.

The revised housing budget, which is understood to have been produced after the Conservative opposition group pushed for the rent increase to be scrapped, will go to council on Tuesday for approval.

It proposes no rent increase for the coming year and a return to the annual five per cent increase in 2022/23.

The changes also follow the findings of a rent consultation which found support for the administration’s two per cent increase fall.

Two years ago, nearly 80 per cent of tenants backed a five per cent increase, with an “overwhelming” majority reported to have done the same in last year’s consultation.

This year, however, more than half of the tenants who took part said their financial situation had been worsened over the last year because of Covid-19.

Just over 27 per cent of tenants reported being furloughed during the pandemic, with 24 per cent saying their work hours had been reduced and over five per cent saying they had been made redundant.

The proposed housing budget goes before councillors for approval at a virtual meeting on Tuesday.

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