Authorities are not willing to fight

A delegation met with councillors to discuss the government’s plans to siphon off £294 million from council rent accounts next year, and £394 million in 2010/11, for ‘other spending priorities, such as education or defence’ (Inside Housing, 23 December).

We are very angry, because that is not what we pay our rent for.

Haringey Council officers have failed to provide either tenants or councillors with accurate information about the impact of the rent and service charge increases.

The ALMO’s rent rise leaflet falsely claims that ‘most tenants who rent a one-bedroom flat from Haringey Council pay between £50 and £70 a week’.

This statement is untrue and misleading because it ignores service charges of up to £27 per week, which are increased year by year.

We cannot choose to pay either rent or service charges. We have to pay both. Councillors told our delegation that they had made representations to the government about the rent increases, but the only progress was a reduction from the even higher rises that the Communities and Local Government department originally wanted.

The delegation asked councillors to go back to the government with tenants to stand up for a better deal, but they declined.

Councillors are not yet ready to stand up to the government over its vindictive rent policies and the council agreed these rent rises without dissension.

We are planning a series of official complaints and freedom of information requests about its faulty consultation on the increases.

Tenants will also be attending a council housing evidence session at parliament, where we will be reporting on the excess rent increases and service charge scams and demand that they be reversed.

Paul Burnham, Haringey Defend Council Housing

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