Council approves 7% rent increase for council tenants

At the special budget meeting on Tuesday 24 February councillors approved a seven per increase for council tenants for 2026/27, in line with the results of our tenants’ survey. 

A consultation was carried out with our tenants at the end of last year and 66 per cent of those who took part agreed with plans to raise rents by seven per cent to allow us to continue to deliver our housing service and modernisation and new build programmes.   

This means that the average rent for council tenants will rise by £6.12 to £93.58, effective from Monday 6 April 2026. Despite the pressure on our housing service, East Lothian rents remain some of the lowest in Scotland.

A rent level consultation with tenants found that:

• tenants put most value on the repairs service and door and window replacements, followed by modernisation including energy efficiency measures, and investing in new council homes
• 65 per cent of those who responded felt that the rent they pay is good value for money

Council also approved a Housing Revenue Account expenditure budget for 2026/27 of £44.430m, an increase of around £3m on last year, which will be spent on service costs including repairs and staffing. The Capital budget of £50.454m will be invested in new council housing, modernisation, extensions and energy efficiency improvements to existing council properties.

Read the paper online (item 02a).