Council house tenants in Dundee have helped shape rent levels for next year.

A two-month consultation with all tenants in the city was undertaken at the end of last year and a report to the city council's housing, Dundee Contract Services and environment service committee on Monday proposes an increase of 4.5%.

Housing convener Councillor Jimmy Black said: "All our tenants were given the chance to take part in the consultation and it was important that they gave us their views on the rents proposals.

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"The council is spending millions on its housing stock to meet its legal obligation for the Scottish Housing Quality Standard by 2015 and we depend on the income from rents to be able to achieve this.

"We made it as easy as possible for tenants to take part in the consultation and a lot of information was provided because we wanted them to be fully aware of the options."

The recommendation in the report to committee is that rents be increased by 4.5% which is equal to £2.59 a week on average from April 4 this year. Increases in other charges, including garage lock-ups and some other fees, are also up for approval.

The other options for rent increases were 4.75% and 5%. As well as helping the council meeting the quality standard, the proposed rise of 4.5% will also assist in reducing planned maintenance from 10 years to eight and an enhanced relet standard.

(GK)