FEES and charges paid by people living in temporary accommodation for the homeless in Torfaen and rents at a Gypsy Traveller site are to increase.
The borough council, which said it hadn’t raised charges last year, has agreed to a 4.3 per cent rise in line with a new rent and service charge standard for Wales introduced by the Welsh Government.
That will see rents at the Shepherd’s Hill Gypsy and Traveller site in Pontypool increase, to £123.20 a week, from £118.13.
Service charges for those living in privately owned, shared accommodation – provided through the council – will see them increase from £20.35 a week to £21.22 which is an additional £3.48 a month.
Residents at the Nethercourt flats in Cwmbran, which are used by the council as temporary housing, will have to find an extra £29.04, £29.32 and £29.50 a month respectively in rents and service charges for bedsits, one bed flats and two-bedroom maisonettes.
Rents for those in bedsits and one-bedroom flats will increase by £6.39 a week on top of the existing weekly charge of £148.68, to £155.07 which works out at £25.56 a month.
Residents of the maisonettes will see their £165.49 a week rent rise to £172.60 which is a £7.11 weekly increase or an extra £28.44 a month.
The new weekly services charges are increasing to £21.22 a week for bedsits, £22.94 for one bed flats and £25.81 for maisonettes, which range from increases of 94 pence to £1.06 a week.
The new charges will come in from April 1 and the council says it incurs costs from all types of temporary accommodation, including housing associations, to cover the procurement and operation of the accommodation including repairs, general maintenance and costs related to providing utilities.
Individuals placed in accommodation, or renting a pitch, are responsible for paying rent and any service charges and payments are collected as direct payments from individuals or from Housing Benefit contributions if individuals qualify for support based on their income.
The council says while a majority do qualify for Housing Benefit that covers their rent a number of households are in employment and aren’t entitled to the payment. It says in those instances it has processes in place to ensure individuals are not placed in hardship with assistance provided along with support from its financial inclusion team.
It says service charges are significantly subsidised and have been held at the present rate for the last year, which it says is no longer sustainable. The increases are intended to recoup some of the additional costs though it will still be subsidising the utilities costs, this will be offset by the increases.