Ipswich Borough Council has awarded Ark Consultancy a £14,000 contract to review its approach to service charges and rent flexibility for social housing.
The big picture: The council must balance affordable rents with the increasing costs of maintaining and developing social housing. Current social council rents in Ipswich are around 40% of market rent, at the bottom of the 40-60% range set by national standards.
Why it matters: The review could increase rent for new tenants, potentially impacting affordability for those seeking social housing in Ipswich.
Key details:
The government allows councils to increase rents for new tenants by up to 5% above the formula rent for general needs tenancies or 10% for supported housing.
The council proposes a new Rent and Service Charge Policy to implement these increases.
The contract with Ark Consultancy is for an initial 12-month term, with an option to extend for another 12 months.
Between the lines: The council faced challenges in awarding this contract:
An initial procurement exercise in August 2024 failed when two tenders received were non-compliant.
The council then waived normal competitive purchasing requirements to award the contract directly to Ark Consultancy.
What they're saying: The council stated that "further delay in awarding a contract would be likely to lead to financial loss and it is economically in the best interests of the Council to proceed with an award without further delay."
The bottom line: According to the council, this review comes as the costs of maintaining council housing, including fire and building safety standards, have "increased significantly and continue to increase."
