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Pennine pledge after 'empties' rate change
PENNINE Housing 2000 has reassured its 12,000 tenants that there will be no rent rise next year specifically to meet the hike in council tax on its empty properties.
Councillors voted to halve the council tax relief on empty properties at last week's council meeting.
At the meeting concerns were raised that Pennine rents would have to rise to cover the cost.
But communications manager Howard Keal said: "The new requirement has a negligible impact on us and the rise in costs will be absorbed within our budget."
"Overall we have relatively few properties that have been empty for more than six months and the current number of empty lettable homes is low compared to the number which we have in Calderdale."
The 50 per cent discount will be reduced to 25 per cent from April, increasing council tax bills by an average of 200.
Conservative leader Stephen Baines (Northowram and Shelf) said one in 10 of the 2,700 empty homes in Calderdale was owned by social landlords who would have to pay at least 54,000 a year more council tax.
He hinted that might mean higher rents for tenants or fewer property improvements, and fewer new homes being built.
But the council backed the changes to the discount scheme to raise an initial 750,000 and an extra 50,000 a year to be used on schemes to help the homeless.
Pennine is the biggest social landlord in Calderdale and among the properties which it has empty are three high rise blocks of flats at Crib Lane, comprising 300 homes.
Mr Keal said Pennine was still negotiating with developers on long term proposals to regenerate the flats and houses in this area.
It is also talking to private landlords about bringing their empty properties to the attention of a wider audience through the key choice letting system.
Figures show that despite the number of empty homes, there are 6,735 people actively seeking accommodation in Calderdale.
It was a figure described as obscene by Labour's regeneration and development spokesman, Coun Barry Collins (Illingworth and Mixenden).
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Saturday 11 February 2012
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