A LABOUR councillor has warned tenants could face fuel poverty when they are forced to pay a new £49 a month service charge.

Dudley Council is set to hike its service charge up from £5.20 to an average £12.46 per week which Cllr Adam Aston says will put people who are already struggling financially under more pressure.

The increase is part of the council’s housing revenue budget for next year which also includes a 7.7 percent rent rise.

Cllr Aston said: “As a paramedic I go into peoples’ homes and they are freezing because they are terrified to turn on the heating.

“If you increase the costs for tenants they will be forced to make these decisions – pay the charge or heat their home and end up in debt to the council.”

The charge will pay for services like cleaning communal areas which the council currently does not provide.

Council leader, councillor Patrick Harley, said the charges were necessary to get the authority’s housing reserves back on track. He also believed there will be benefits for tenants.

At the council’s cabinet meeting on December 13, Cllr Harley said: “Our rents are less than the private sector, we don’t charge and the level of service residents get is poor because there is no budget. 

“By introducing the service charge we have the opportunity to provide a worthwhile service.”

Dudley cabinet member for housing, councillor Laura Taylor-Childs, also promised residents would get plenty of help in claiming most of the cash back through benefits like Universal Credit.

Cllr Harley added: “Teams will go out there from housing and there will be clear explanations of how it will work, I am happy we have the right support in place.”

Shadow cabinet member, Cllr Cathryn Bayton, however, warned: “To get the relevant information to all tenants is going to be a challenge."