Dundee’s SNP council is facing demands to go even further than Holyrood by extending a rent freeze for social tenants by another full year.
Labour councillors in the city want to curb fee rises beyond April when the nationwide cap is meant to end to help struggling families through the cost-of-living crisis.
Pete Shears, who represents The Ferry ward, said the local government could “really make a difference” by mitigating rising rents until spring 2024.
The Scottish Government’s rent freeze stops increases in housing costs for nearly all tenants and has now officially become law.
Dundee Labour MSP Mercedes Villalba – who fought for the policy before it was introduced – backed calls to keep capping social rents in the city.
Currently the local SNP administration is proposing to raise council rents by up to £2.82 a week, which would be more than £140 over the year.
Times are as hard as they’ve ever been.
– Councillor Pete Shears.
While Mr Shears admitted social rent rises in the city have generally been fair, he believes an exception should be made while energy bills are skyhigh.
He told The Courier: “It could be the difference between an extra bag of food in the cupboard.
“It could be the difference between being able to put the heating on in the morning. It does add up.
“On a local level it looks like the SNP is trying to raise rents, but from a national level they’ve frozen them, so there’s a bit of a mismatch.”
Mr Shears claimed the rent freeze would cost an estimated £1.6 million. He said this could be taken from the council’s housing renewal and repair fund, which has £9.8 million in reserve.
‘Times are hard’
He said: “Times are as hard as they’ve ever been. People are watching their money like nothing else.
“As a council, we can really make a difference to some people’s lives here just by taking £1.6 million out and giving them a bit of breathing room.”
Dundee SNP councillor Heather Anderson, who chairs the neighbourhood services committee, said small rent increases had helped the local authority fund repairs in homes and tackle fuel poverty.
Her party wants to double the council’s hardship fund to £1 million to ensure any tenants struggling to meet costs will be given financial support.
She said: “Rent increases in previous years have helped us continue to clear the backlog in repairs and maintenance caused by Covid, keep up levels of investment, and improve the energy efficiency of tenants’ homes.”
Labour MSP Ms Villalba insisted the SNP must ensure councils are given proper support so they can afford the rent freeze.
She said: “Just as the SNP during its early years in government made funding available to local authorities to freeze council tax bills, it’s vital that it provides support to ensure a rent freeze for social tenants is delivered.”
While Dundee Council plans to raise social rents from next April, this could change if the SNP extend the national rent freeze.
Nicola Sturgeon’s government has admitted the cap on housing costs could be continued beyond the initial six-month period if energy bills remain high.