Bromley council residents face maximum rise in rent

Residents in parts of south-east London are facing the maximum increase in rent allowed by a local authority.

Bromley Borough Council cited an insufficient supply of accommodation as one of the reasons for the rise in affordable and social rent.

Housing bosses said expensive nightly rate accommodation, such as hotels and hostels, were being used to mitigate the issue but that options remained "extremely limited".

The new rates will apply from April.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), documents for an executive meeting next week show the increase of nearly 8% would see weekly rents going up by almost £14 for one-bedroom properties, taking the cost to £194.

Rents for two and three bedroom homes will increase from £191 to £205 and from £201 to £216 respectively.

The council said 691 new units out of a target of 1,000 had been sourced through housing acquisition schemes and building projects in the borough such as West Wickham, Beckenham car park and Bromley North.

Plans for 38 new affordable homes on a site beside Bromley North train station were approved by the council in October 2023, as part of a wider project to build 75 new flats.

Work is scheduled to begin in March.

The maximum social housing rent rise is derived from the consumer price index from September last year, which was 6.7 percent, with an additional one percent increase.

The measure will be decided at an executive meeting for Bromley Council on 17 January.

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