Every single tenant will be worse off from April when Labour councillors increase the average cost to every household on Lambeth estates by another £750 a year once rents and five per cent increases in service charges are added together.

Faced with financial meltdown of their own creation Labour Lambeth was within days of hiking the rents by £5 a week just before Christmas.  Incompetent Labour councillors have overspent by £22 million.

Despite agreeing a cuts package including up to 130 job losses for a housing service already at rock bottom, Labour claimed it had no alternative but to impose upon its long suffering tenants a huge increase in rents in the early spring.  To add to the misery, all external decorations have been halted and the remaining concierge services slashed.

Conservative Housing Spokeswoman Councillor Irene Kimm says:  “These savage increases are a body blow to hard pressed families who are already suffering from the government mishandling of the banks and Labour’s disastrous borrowing spree.  Even those tenants who have their rent paid will suffer because the service charges are all going up by an average of 5 pence in the pound and they are not covered by housing benefit.

The full breakdown of how the increase

• The £12 per week rent hike is the maximum increase permitted.
• Charges for garages will increase by 5%
• Charges for parking bays will increase by 5%
• Charges for heating and hot water will increase by 5% – a 65% rise in the past 12 months alone
• Door entry systems will now cost £2.59 per week
• CCTV charges will be £4.20 per week
• Tower block concierge services will reach £4.68
• Caretaking, estate cleaning, window cleaning, communal lighting, disinfection, disinfestation and grounds maintenance charges will all increase by 5%