Housing 'timebomb' warning as Cannock Chase rents rise
Rents in Cannock Chase will soar to unaffordable levels for many in the next decade as private landlords push up charges, the district's housing boss warned today.
Councillor Frank Allen, housing leader, said: "The housing bomb is ticking and there will soon be a big explosion." He warned only the better-off would be able to cope with the costs.
A report by housing charity Shelter warns that new housing benefits which come into force in April could see the level of support cut and will not keep up with increases in market rents.
The report predicts that by 2023, renting in Cannock, Hednesford and Rugeley will become unaffordable for claimants.
Currently the district has 4,240 homes in the private rented sector, accounting for 10 per cent of the total housing stock, around half the national average.
Rents are increasing and many lettings agents are now charging an administration fee which claimants are struggling to find.
Cannock Chase Council has been praised by the National Landlords Association for being "exceptionally proactive" in linking with the private sector. But Councillor Allen said there were limits in what they could do.
"Successive governments have put housing on the back burner and we are now reaping the harvest of that," he said.
"In the 1980s we were building 250 to 300 council houses a year, we used to pride ourselves on our record, but that has stopped, and I can't see any light at the end of the tunnel."
The number of young people who have sought discretionary housing payments in the past six months to help them with their rent has doubled.
