Council Housing: Rents Mr. Stewart Jackson To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the estimated average rise in council housing rents will be from April 2009. Mr. Iain Wright This information is not yet available. The Minister for Housing announced on 6 March that Communities and Local Government will shortly be consulting local authorities on a reduced national average guideline rent increase of 3.1 per cent. for 2009-10. This halves the existing national increase of 6.2 per cent. in recognition of the current difficult economic times. Authorities that reduce their rent increases in response to our offer will be compensated by central Government through the subsidy system. We have also already committed to looking again at the 2010-11 national guideline rent increase in the light of circumstances closer to the start of that financial year.