THE politician who’s ultimately in charge of rent for local authority homes has overruled Onchan Commissioners, who wanted a rent cap for their tenants.
Social Care Minister Chris Robertshaw MHK told the board they could not cap the rent increase at 15 per cent.
‘I am extremely disappointed with the minister’s response,’ said the authority’s chairman, Robin Turton. ‘Why on earth would he wish to burden some of our most vulnerable tenants with a 34 per cent increase in rents over little more than 12 months?
‘Onchan does not need to collect such an increase. We should not be implementing a rental system that seeks to make a profit out of social housing.’
The commissioners concluded that the minister must have misunderstood the basis for the authority’s request.
Lead member for finance John Quaye said: ‘We already have a healthy housing reserve account and we have made provision for the costs of purchasing and building additional houses. What are we to do with the extra rent charges? Ratepayers don’t subsidise social housing tenants. Are we now asking social housing tenants to subsidise the ratepayers?’
Chief executive Malcolm Hulme said: ‘At the request of the board I have written again to Mr Robertshaw explaining, in detail, the reasons behind the commissioners’ resolution to determine an equitable and fair rent for our public sector tenants. In particular, such a high increase as proposed by the Department of Social Care does not take into account the means our tenants, many of whom face financial difficulties.’
‘We hope that we can now reach agreement quickly,’ said Mr Turton.
The Department of Social Care told the Courier that the updated points system, which will be in place from April 2013, provided a fair and equitable means of charging rent for all public sector properties, regardless of the location. The revised system updates the rent calculation system which has remained largely unchanged for over 20 years and did not take account of new build properties, improved modern designs, layout, thermal efficiency and the modern amenities provided in most public sector homes today. All local authorities were informed of these changes in November 2012.
The DSC said that the revised rents point system was part of a progressive strategy that this year accurately identified property ‘amenity’, forming a sound basis for means-testing. Together these would ultimately provide a rent system that more accurately identified the quality of the amenity and the tenants’ ability to pay.
A spokesperson for the DSC said: ‘The DSC appreciates the commissioners’ concerns on the issue of affordability. As a responsible landlord Onchan can take measures to mitigate the impact of such rent increases, where there are cases of financial hardship, and the DSC is happy to support them on how this might be achieved.
‘The island is facing very challenging times, both at a local and national level, and as such it is important we ensure public services such as Housing are financially sustainable and we are able to continue to build a positive future for our communities.
‘Any extra rental income resulting from the changes should be placed in Onchan’s housing reserve to ensure funds are available for future investment in public sector housing to help address housing need.’
