COUNCIL house tenants in a rural County Durham district have had their rent increased.
Teesdale District Council has increased the rent on its housing stock by an average of 3.86 per cent.
The council is restructuring its rents to remove the difference between the rents charged by local authorities and the generally higher rents charged by Registered Social Landlords.
As a result, average council rents will increase faster than inflation between now and 2012, while the rent for some properties will decrease.
However, the Government has limited rent increases to no more than inflation plus 0.5 per cent, plus £2, in any one year.
Properties in higher valued areas of the dale have had higher increases which will reflect the value of property better. The rent restructuring in Teesdale has produced a spread of increases from 0.99 per cent to 8.1 per cent.
The council's head of housing and the community, Peter Slack, said: "Although eight per cent might seem a lot, in real terms, it's just over £3 a week."
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