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Almost 70% of England’s five million housing association tenants do not want a rent cut next year, according to a new poll.

The survey, commissioned by the National Housing Federation, showed that 69% of tenants would rather forego the Government’s proposed rent cut for 2011 of around 0.9% than suffer cuts to community services.

Under the Government’s proposals, which are due to be confirmed on Friday, housing association tenants would be given a small rent cut to reflect the current bout of deflation. This will not only affect social landlords, but it will also affect the communities' resources.

The NHF says that even a small rent cut would reduce income for social housing providers by millions of pounds – housing associations invest £272m a year on providing a huge range of community services – and attract a further £163m from other sources to fund the work.

The Federation says social housing rents have never been cut before, even during the two world wars and the Great Depression, and it has called for a rent freeze next year to protect the interests of tenants and prevent services being cut. And tenants are behind the call – 69% of residents would rather forego a modest cut of 0.9% in their rents if it protected community services. Only 28% of tenants backed a rent cut.

David Orr, chief executive of the NHF says: “Faced with a shortfall of millions of pounds in their income, housing associations could be forced into cutting back dramatically on the key services tenants really value – such as anti-social behaviour programmes, job training schemes and education programmes.

“The fact that nearly 70% of tenants would rather forego a cut in their rents in order to protect these services shows just how vitally important they are.”

SOURCE: NHF, 06/11/09

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