Council tenants face 4.8 per cent rent increase in Portsmouth

The council is raising rents to help balance its housing revenue budget, which is currently forecast to run at a deficit every year up to 2029/30.

A 6.1 per cent rent rise would have been needed to fully balance the books. However, the council can only increase rents by inflation plus one per cent. As a result, the council expects it will need to draw £1.177m from reserves in 2026/27.

General service charges will also rise. Housing and bungalow tenants will pay an extra 35p per week, while flat and maisonette tenants will pay an additional 70p per week.

Sheltered housing charges will depend on the level of service, but are expected to increase by between 4.2 per cent and 5.7 per cent.

Laundry charges will remain unchanged for the third year in a row. Heating costs for gas and district heating blocks will fall by around 0.5 per cent.

However, blocks using electric heating will see charges rise by 14.2 per cent – an increase of £1.97 per week for a one-bed property and £2.73 per week for a two-bed – due to higher network and distribution costs.

The council has forecast a £12.6m draw from reserves over the next five years.However, rent convergence – a government policy that aims to make rents more equal across council homes – could raise around £3m more each year, which is roughly 4 per cent of total rent income.

If introduced, rent convergence would reduce the projected deficits to £2m in 2027/28, £1.5m in 2028/29, and £700,000 in 2029/30.

Cllr Darren Sanders, cabinet member for housing, said: “Unfortunately our rents are capped but our costs aren’t and that’s very difficult to deal with – unlike the private rented sector who can increase rents by as much as they like.

“Rather reluctantly I agree to all the charge increases in the budget, sadly we have no choice and I hope we can lobby government next year for more flexibility particularly for people who are in work and on benefits which is a third of our tenants.”