Campaign hopes to block government plan to relax rules for larger social properties

A group of MPs and councillors has pledged to fight a government plan to let social landlords raise rents on larger homes.

Under the policy of rent restructuring, registered social landlords’ rent rises are limited so that they will eventually be level with those charged by councils.

But in a consultation paper on rent restructuring, the ODPM said it intended to allow councils and housing associations to “change the formula for larger properties”.

This means they could raise rents faster for larger homes and slower for smaller ones.

The report, compiled by consultant Hacas Chapman Hendy and published on Tuesday, said this would make larger properties more “financially viable”, providing the funds to manage them and do repairs.

Jim Coulter, chief executive of the National Housing Federation, said: “If larger homes are not viable to run, it will disproportionately affect black and minority-ethnic households as they tend to require larger properties.”

But Karen Buck, Labour MP for Regent’s Park & Kensington North, said: “There is a groundswell of opinion among MPs and councillors in London and around the country that this is the wrong response to the problem of not having money to invest in properties.

“As the proposals stand, they have the hardest impact on the most vulnerable groups. That’s not on.

“Housing conditions are a very legitimate set of concerns, but so are the thousands of people living in poverty who will be hit by increased rents.”

Buck is supported by Andrew Dismore, MP for Hendon and Iain Coleman, MP for Fulham. She is also canvassing MPs and councillors in high-value areas such as Bristol and Brighton.

The consultation, Three-year Review of Rent Restructuring, also recommended councils and RSLs use the same method for calculating rents by April 2005. This would mean increased council rents of “about £2.60 a week” in real terms by 2011/12, the paper said.

However, RSLs will not be allowed to raise rents by a greater amount than the current limit of the retail price index plus 0.5%. Such a change had been mooted to raise more funds.