Sixty authorities join forces to oppose ‘stealth tax' on tenants

Scores of local authorities have ganged up to demand an end to the 'stealth tax' that channels vast amounts of their tenants' rent into Treasury coffers.

The 60-strong group, led by Waverley Council, has met to plan a campaign to demand chages to the council housing finance regime.

They are angry that tenants are set to pay £194 million more into government coffers via their rents this year than councils will receive to manage and maintain their homes (see story above).

David January, strategic director of housing and community at Waverley, said the issue was starting to have an effect on services in some cases.

'In our case we have got a rent roll of about £22.2 million and we pay £10.8 million to the government.'

Waverley Council has said that the financing regime has become a 'stealth tax' on itself and its tenants.

The councils met two weeks ago at a meeting organised by Waverley Council to discuss a plan of action. They are set to write to the government outlining how they want to see the system change.

'The way the subsidy system works is going to generate substantial surpluses to the government over time and that seems very unfair,' Mr January added. 'Together we can perhaps do something about that.'

Meanwhile, the Chartered Institute of Housing is to canvas tenants' opinions on the future of the housing finance regime in an online forum.

The institute has pledged to feed back any opinions gathered from the website to the government.