The same increase will apply to service charges, garages, lockups, and temporary accommodation. The increase will mean Fife Council’s average weekly rent will be £91.72 going forward.

Councillor Judy Hamilton, spokesperson for Housing, said any increase in the current financial climate was a difficult one to make but that it was an essential move to support Fife’s under-pressure housing services.

“Good quality housing is absolutely fundamental — never more so than during a housing emergency,” she said. “People deserve warm, safe homes that are affordable, especially those on the lowest incomes. We have a duty to ensure no one is left behind, and that every tenant in Fife can live with dignity and security.”

Tenants assessed the affordability of any increase and provided feedback on rent increases and on their priorities: to continue to make home improvements; build new council houses, and create more energy efficient housing.

Cllr Hamilton added: “Any rent increase must be set at a level that ensures we can deliver these priorities while protecting essential services. A 6% rent increase is necessary to maintain stability and sustain investment.

“The Fife Living Rent makes sure our rent levels remain below the local authority average, below housing association rents, and significantly below private market rents. To further support tenants, we are also introducing a £1.3 million Tenant Support Fund which will directly help the 28% of tenants who receive no housing benefit or Universal Credit support. It also is available to address fuel poverty so no tenant should have to choose between heating and eating.”

The council also agreed:

• investment of £210.739m over the next four years 2025-29 to help maintain existing council housing across Fife
• investment of £239.412m to extend the Affordable Housing Programme to March 2029 and the additional borrowing required to support this
• investment of £4.810m to extend a programme to purchase more council housing to March 2026 and the additional borrowing required to support this

The rent increase is supported by a Tenant Support fund and this can be accessed to support tenants who paying full rent, who may not be able to access any Housing Benefit.  

Full budget

As part of its overall budget for 2025/26, Fife Council has agreed investment of almost £10m in health and social care and over £9m to fix Fife’s roads over the next three years.

A council tax rise of 8.2% will help to pay for these investments across the Kingdom and bridge a budget gap of over £5m. 

Council leader David Ross explained: “We have to strike a balance between making savings, raising council tax and continuing essential investment in our services for local people.

“Fife’s health and social care partnership is facing huge financial challenges and urgent investment is needed alongside our partners NHS Fife. We have to make sure that those in most need have the right care and support.

“We are also continuing to invest in maintaining and improving Fife’s roads. An additional £9m will be invested over the next three years.

“The challenging financial landscape and the fact that we had to freeze council tax last year meant, this year, we were considering council tax increases of almost 10%. However, recognising the impact this would have on Fifers, with some careful financial management we have brought this down to 8.2% for this financial year with potential rises of 5% for the next two years.”

The council has also committed £19.5m for flooding schemes across Fife over the next ten years and design work is underway on others so that the council is in the best position possible to bid for Scottish Government funding when it becomes available.

Cllr Ross added: “We have had to make some tough choices and we’ll continue to make savings. Our ambitious 10-year capital plan which funds major projects and maintains assets including roads, schools and other buildings will continue to be reviewed as costs are still rising. We’ll have to cut back on some planned projects but overall we’ll continue to invest over £870m over the next 10 years in the Kingdom’s infrastructure.

“There’s no doubt that we are continuing to operate in a time of real financial uncertainty but we believe the budget we’ve set today strikes the best balance between making budget savings and increasing council tax to sustain and improve services over the next three years.”

Based on a Band D property the council tax increase will be £113.58 from £1,385.18 in 2024/25 to £1,498.76 in 2025/26. For those paying their bill over 12 months the increase will be £9.47 per month.