TENANTS struggling to survive with soaring energy bills and supermarket costs are now facing a massive rent hike after council chiefs voted for the maximum possible increase. The 7 per cent rise coming into effect in April could lead to families having to find an extra £60 a month.

Critics have warned that the burden of government cuts to local authority funding is being passed on to residents.

The government has allowed councils to increase rents by almost twice as much as usual because inflation is soaring at a 40-year high and interest rates are affecting huge loans taken out by the council to finance estate regeneration schemes.

The Town Hall says it needs the money to maintain its crumbling housing stock – of which increasing parts are ridden with black mould and damp. Tenants living in estates with communal boilers will also be hit by ­higher charges – of around £25 a week for a two-bedroom flat – after the Labour cabinet vote last night (Wednesday).

Veteran housing activist Petra Dando said: “At this time it is immoral to think about rent increases on so many different levels. You can’t just thin about the rent in isolation. It’s the heating, the council tax, the energy rises. People are really going to suffer. There will be increases in things like domestic violence. It is going to throw more and more people into poverty. We are going to see times like we’ve never seen before. Absolutely, there should be a rent freeze.”

She added: “For whatever reason housing has gone off the political agenda. The difficulty for us is getting those people on board who are really affected by this.”

Housing chief Councillor Meric Apak

The New Journal has had a surge in calls in recent months from residents who cannot make ends meet and are living in homes in significant disrepair, with damp and mould. This week a woman told how she was threatened with eviction for rent arrears amassed despite working three jobs and using food banks to feed her family. Across Camden, arrears are at a historic high having doubled since the pandemic began – to £14million compared to £7m in early 2020.

Ms Dando is on the Kentish Town District Management Committee, one of five DMCs that were set up to lobby the council on behalf of Camden tenants. Hampstead and Camden Town DMCs voted against the rise, Gospel Oak and Holborn reps voted in favour, while Kentish Town DMC voted for a 5 per cent alternative.

Camden Town DMC vice-chair John Wood said: “We’ve got £14m rent arrears. They are going to be around £20m by the end of the year. They have increased the hot water and heating to these residents by £25 a week on a two-bed flat. “People can’t afford to pay the rent as it is now. The benefits for these people have not gone up. Only a percentage will get extra housing benefit to cover the rise. It will in the long-run cost more because there will be people evicted and put in private rentals.”

The council had argued that Brexit, the Covid pandemic, the war in Ukraine and a “newly-arising need” to improve fire safety systems in buildings post-Grenfell have created “an almost perfect storm” for its housing revenue account.

Other than funding from central government, the only source of real income for the housing revenue account is rents and also service charges paid by leaseholders.

Several projects in the pipeline are threatened by the lack of cash including external works to 3,000 homes, 27 new lifts being installed and 5,500 fire alarms.

Housing chief Labour councillor Meric Apak said: “We face a really difficult balancing act this winter – we are investing significantly to support our tenants during the current cost of living crisis, and we must also ensure we have the money to continue to invest in the repair and maintenance of tenants’ homes. The rent proposal will bring in £8.25m we can invest directly back into tenants’ homes.

“Our housing budget has lost out on a potential £69m due to government cuts – £69m we could have invested in tenants’ homes. It is vital that central government provides local authorities with proper funding to help us maintain our housing and invest in critical issues such as maintaining the highest standards of building safety, implementing new safety regulations as well as our ongoing investment in addressing damp and mould. We have also seen our housing budget depleted as cost energy and maintenance costs have soared due to inflation

“We have set up a £2m crisis fund and are here to help residents in desperate need with emergency payments. “Please contact your neighbourhood housing officer if you have concerns about paying.” your rent or bills.”