Bromley social rent tenants set for weekly increase by 7.7%

Bromley Council has raised London Affordable Rent and social housing rent levels for its tenants by the maximum amount possible for a local authority.

The change will come into effect from April this year and affect 60 properties in the borough.

The 7.7 per cent rise will cause weekly rents for one-bedroom properties to go up by £13.87 compared to last year, rising from £180.12 to £193.99.

The change was approved at an executive meeting for Bromley Council on January 17th. 

Lib Dem Councillor Will Connolly said at the meeting that he objected to the rise and felt it was sending a message to those worst-off in the borough.

Cllr Connolly said: “This is about the most vulnerable people in society and those worse-off financially being hit by Conservative-run Bromley Council’s decision to increase the London Affordable Rent and social housing rent level, for its own tenants. Bromley Lib Dems object to that. It’s way above inflation, and during this prolonged cost of living crisis, it’s very unfair.”

“The social tenants that I speak to in our community are concerned with rising costs for energy to heat their homes, the shoddy maintenance and repairs in some properties, and the poor state of mould and damp in some social housing. Adding to tenants’ costs worries me further.”

In 2021/22, more than 4 in 10 social renters (43%) and around a third of private renters (35%) were in poverty after housing costs. Around a third of these social renters and half of these private renters were only in poverty after their housing costs were factored in, so appear to be pushed into poverty by the amount they have to spend on housing (as shown in Joseph Rowntree Foundation, UK Poverty Report, 2024).