A GOVERNMENT scheme to change the rules on charges for council and housing association accommodation could make rents fairer for tenants.

All rents under the new scheme, unveiled on Thursday last week, would be consistent with local earnings, capital value and the number of bedrooms in a property.

The idea is to ensure that rents charged by housing associations and local authorities should not depend on where tenants live.

This should lead to a more sensible structure of rents giving residents more options over whether to pay more for a better property or save money by going for a less popular one.

With an expected average rent increase of £1.68 per week throughout Harrow and £1.90 per week in Brent from April next year this is likely to be less than the upcoming average increase this year, inevitably leading to slower and lower rent increases throughout the next 10 years.

"People are anxious that this will mean huge rent increases," said Housing Minister Sally Keeble. "However, rent restructuring will make a marginal difference to them. The government's aim is not to have an impact on individual tenants, it will open doors for us to be able to move with progressive policies for housing.

"We want people to have more of a choice in housing especially as rents are now really a luck of the draw situation. We are aiming to even out the rates of housing association and council housing."

Eventually, rent restructuring will reduce the burden on tenants and the massive hikes experienced over the past 10 years should be a distant memory.

A spokeswoman for Harrow Council said: "We are aware of the restructuring plan and have responded to the government's invitation to take part in the consultation paper. We are now working on the rent restructuring proposals and will be fixing any rent increase in the New Year, following consultation with tenants' representatives."

By.Nina Palmer