📈 Heads up, Carmarthenshire council house residents! Your rent is set to rise by an average of 4.3% in April. While that means an extra £4.67 a week, one-bedroom house and bungalow tenants can breathe easy – their rent stays the same, thanks to a recent affordability assessment.
This price bump aligns with a new rent-setting system across Wales, affecting both councils and housing associations. Despite the increase, Carmarthenshire remains one of the more affordable regions when it comes to council housing, ranking third least expensive.
The council plans to put this extra rental income to good use, funding essential maintenance, repairs, and housing management while also tackling borrowing costs. Excited to hear they’re setting up a new minor works team to tackle bigger repair jobs quickly and reduce empty property numbers. 👍
Not stopping there, an extra £2 million is being invested to enhance emergency and urgent repair services. Overall, it looks like a big push to maintain and improve housing standards across the board.
In 2026-27, £42.2 million will be allocated for building and acquiring new homes, plus upgrading existing ones. That’ll help with the glaring demand for affordable housing in the county. There are already plans for 1,469 new affordable homes in the pipeline!
However, there’s still work to be done. With over 160 households in temporary accommodation and an average of 32 households presenting as homeless each week, the council aims to prioritise larger sites to increase the supply of affordable homes, particularly one-bedroom units.
🏠 What do you think about these changes? Let us know in the comments! #CarmarthenshireHousing #AffordableLiving #CommunityUpdate