Councillor Apologises For 'Unacceptable' Error That Saw Thousands Overcharged Rent

 Darlington Borough Council overcharged 5,241 of its tenants a total of £220,000 in rent fees - averaging at around 81p per person per week over a ten-month period. This represents an average overcharge of around £40 per tenant, though some are thought to have been charged up to £80 extra. The majority of affected tenants were receiving housing benefit and universal credit which covered the erroneous increase, but 1,300 have been directly paying it. The overcharge occurred after a 2.70 per cent rent increase agreed by councillors in February 2020 was wrongly inputted into the system as a £2.70 increase. Read more on the Northern Echo website.

https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/19153739.darlington-councillor-apologises-unacceptable-error-saw-thousands-overcharged-rent/

Welfare Reform Criticised As Social Housing Changes Approved

Government welfare reform came under fire as a council approved changes to its letting policy for social housing. Durham County Council has approved a raft of changes to its letting policy which aim to simplify the process of applying for new homes. The review of the system, which is used by County Durham’s housing associations, was carried out in response to impending changes to housing benefit. Alterations include changing the banding system to have fewer categories and changing the policy on rent arrears. Now, all arrears will be considered when deciding whether someone is an “acceptable tenant”. Previously it was set at eight weeks of arrears. Read more on the Northern Echo website.

War on Empty Homes Being Won Across Region

The war on empty homes – blamed for blight and housing shortages - is slowly being won across the region, new figures suggest. The number of vacant properties in the North-East and North Yorkshire fell by almost 4,000 last year, to 45,846, a reduction of 8.5 per cent. And there has been much faster progress in tackling long-term empty homes, a decline from 17,816 to 15,243 – a fall of 14.4 per cent. Those homes, without occupants for more than six months, cause the greatest concern, because they fall into disrepair and attract anti-social behaviour. Read more on the Northern Echo website.