Greenwich council house rents to increase by seven per cent

By Joe Coughlan, Local Democracy Reporter

Greenwich residents living in council housing will see a seven per cent rise in their rent this year.

The rent hike will bring in an extra £8.1m for Greenwich council’s housing services, and raise average weekly rental charges in the borough to £102.10.

The increase was discussed at a full council meeting on Thursday. Labour councillor Pat Slattery, cabinet member for housing, said at the meeting that Greenwich still had the lowest council housing rent in London, despite the increase.

Conservative councillor Matt Hartley, leader of the opposition, raised concerns about the council relying on damp and mould data across the borough from 2020, which showed a decrease in cases, and felt this would have been impacted by the pandemic.

The councillor also said improvements to the council’s housing repairs service were badly needed and overdue.

Cllr Hartley said: “The report shows there’s a forecasted £4.8m overspend on the Housing Revenue Account for this year, which is troubling, and nearly three-quarters of that overspend, £3.4m, was linked to repairs in one way or another, so tenants are paying more for a service that is very far from up to scratch, and we all know that.

“I have a concern that the council doesn’t yet have a full grasp on the scale of the damp and mould problem across our housing stock.”

The opposition leader proposed adding a survey for council tenants to voice their experiences of damp and mould in the past five years.

In response, Cllr Slattery said the £25,000 cost of the survey could be spent fitting 50 homes in the borough with temperature and humidity sensors.

The portfolio holder said the council were developing a database on tenants suffering from damp and mould, and were considering adding a dedicated team to handle the problem for residents.

It comes after Housing Secretary Michael Gove this month announced an amendment to the Social Housing Regulation Bill called Awaab’s Law.

The change is named after Awaab Ishak, a two-year-old boy who died from the effects of mould exposure at his home in Rochdale in 2020.

The law aims to force landlords to fix damp and mould problems in social housing under stricter time limits.

Labour councillor Anthony Okereke, leader of Greenwich council, said at the meeting: “Our residents need action, and that action is public investment to upgrade their homes so they can live in decent homes.

“In fact, last year we proposed £400m to do just that, and the opposition voted against that. So I’m hopeful that is a mistake that he will not repeat tonight.”

Pictured top: Woolwich Town Hall, where Greenwich council holds its council meetings (Picture: Joe Coughlan)