AROUND 85 per cent of sheltered housing tenants will not be paying the full amount of service charges which means the bills will be spread among taxpayers.
Fifty five per cent of residents are in receipt of full housing benefits, 30 per cent receive partial benefits and others who don't currently receive them may qualify.
The service charges are currently pooled over all council house tenants.
The Advertiser/Messenger asked if council house rents would now fall but Cllr Terri Matthews (Con, Furlongs) said there had already been a reduction in rents as this year's increase was just ten per cent when it could have been 18 per cent.
Your No.1 newspaper also asked for confirmation that the service charges not met by tenants on benefits would be shared by taxpayers.
Cllr Matthews admitted the Treasury would fund the charges - its coffers are filled by taxpayers.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article