Rents for Wigan’s 22,000 council homes look set to rise by 2.7 per cent from April 2025.

The same increase will be levied on garages and service charges “where appropriate.”

A recommendation for the hike is contained in a report to the council’s housing advisory panel which meets on Tuesday December 17.

tributes paid to late Wigan borough arts champion

The average social rents in Wigan are currently £94.80 week. Under the proposals this would rise to £97.36.

Rents for the town’s 1,547 garages will go up from an average of £7.54 a week to £7.74. Currently, only 751 are occupied.

Some 79 per cent of tenants are receiving full or partial housing benefit or universal credit. An increase in rents will have “no effect” on tenants getting full benefit and “a lesser effect” on partial benefit.

The report says that a Government rent cap during 2024/25 means that the authority’s rental income was reduced by £11m so reducing investment into the maintenance of the town’s housing stock.

In addition, Wigan’s Housing Revenue Account (HRA) has also lost about £30m from April 2016 to April 2020 because of an “enforced” ome per cent reduction during that four-year period.

“The 2.7 per cent for 2025/26 will allow the HRA to continue to carry out its statutory duties and invest in its stock and asset management programmes,” the report says.

It also says that “no vulnerable groups will be adversely affected by the proposals.”

Among those vulnerable groups are care leavers – someone who has been in the care of the local authority for a period of 13 weeks or more spanning their 16th birthday – for whom there will be “no adjustments.”

But the report states the would be an increased risk of rent arrears due to the increase in rent.

And it reads: “There is no viable alternative, as not setting the maximum level [of the permitted rent increase] would threaten the financial viability of the HRA, resulting in the potential inability to meet our statutory functions.”

Wigan’s housing revenue budget for 2024/25 amounted to a total of £103.5m.

The cost of day-to-day “responsive” repairs is £19.82m and programmed repairs £8.44m.