Stirling Council will investment more than £18.5 million in its housing stock in 2024/25, after the council agreed a 6% rent increase over the same period.

A Special Meeting of Council supported the rise, increasing the average rent by £4.79 per week over the 48-week rental period, from £79.85 in 2023/24 to £84.64 in 2024/25.

Stirling Council's average rent last year was the second lowest of all local authorities in Scotland and the new rate supports the view of the majority of council tenants who responded to a consultation.

Tenants were consulted on a potential rate increase of 6%, 6.2% and 6.4%, with the vast majority of those who responded (59.54%) supporting a 6% rise, raising an additional £1.796 million in revenue.


Installation

A total investment of £18.516 million will be made in housing in 2024/25, including around £10 million to begin work on the construction of 118 new homes, backed by £6.1 million of grant funding from the Scottish Government.

Approximately £1.25 million will be spent on the installation of 178 new kitchens for the council's housing stock, with 178 bathrooms also to be replaced at a cost of around £850,000.

A central heating programme, focusing on the replacement of outdated boilers and inefficient heating systems, will also see investment of around £800,000.

The council has also pledged £1 million for the installation of solar panels and battery storage units and around £900,000 for the installation of external wall insulation, along with the re-roofing and re-rendering of around 75 properties.

Re-invested

Stirling Council leader, Cllr Chris Kane, said: "Everyone deserves to live in warm, safe homes and our substantial investment package of more than £18 million for 2024/25 will improve the quality of our housing stock across our communities, as well as delivering more new council housing.

"Every single penny raised from the increase in council rents will be re-invested in our housing services and we're pleased we've been able to back the rent rise agreed by our tenants following consultation.

"We are committed to making our homes as energy efficient as possible, which will also help our tenants save on household bills."