‘Affordable’ rent hikes well above inflation

Housing association tenants are furious with rent increases far above the current rate of inflation, with many considering rent strikes, and others lobbying their MPs. Since the beginning of April, hundreds of thousands of tenants faced increased rents of at least 5 per cent, based on a formula of the retail prices index, plus 0.5 per cent. There are about 2.3 million housing association tenants in the UK, a figure that has risen sharply in recent years as many traditional council tenants have voted to change their tenure. The government has promised that by 2012 all social housing rents and service charges will be roughly similar for council and housing association tenants in similar areas.