Councils left to pay for rent u-turn

Council leaders are furious that they will have to pick up the tab for the government u-turn over rent increases and say it will cost them at least £10,000 each in administrative costs. Councils had been pushing for a drop in council rent increase from 6.2 to 3.1 per cent on average, which the government only agreed to after authorities had informed tenants of their rent levels for the coming year. Communities and Local Government said it would not pay for the cost of informing tenants of the change to their rent, and local councils say they will need to use money set aside for essential work such as repairs.