Douglas Council wanted 8.9% rent increase

Fri, 16 Dec 2016

Douglas Town Hall

One of the Island's housing authorities wanted public sector rents to increase by almost 9% next year.

The Department of Infrastructure recently announced a 2% increase to rents from April after consulting with the local authorities.

However, Douglas Borough Council's Housing Committee proposed an 8.9% increase for the 2017-18 financial year, while also asking for a 30% increase to the maintenance allowance.

The board claimed any smaller increase would result in an increase in rates due to the cost of maintaining and managing public sector homes.

Castletown, Onchan and the Cooil Roi Elderly Persons Complex all called for there to be no increase, while several other authorities wanted to see an increase in line with inflation.

Several areas also urged the DoI to consider introducing means testing for tenants of public sector homes.