In the West Sussex district, there will be a 7.7% increase in council rent and a 2.99% increase in council tax.
In addition, £1.07 million from reserves will be used by the authority to balance its 2024–2025 budget.
According to the government, Crawley will receive an additional £14.5 million in financing in the upcoming fiscal year.
Due to the volume of private tenants facing no-fault evictions, Crawley Borough Council asserts that it is experiencing a homelessness crisis.
At a budget meeting on Wednesday, the Labour-run authority approved an increase in council tax that will cost a Band D property an additional £6.76 annually.
Realistic funding
Michael Jones, the leader of the council, stated that the new budget “maintains services despite the limited additional resources we have gained from government to provide everything they ask of us”.
He continued: “I will continue to press government for more realistic funding of Crawley Borough Council and ensure we get maximum value for every penny we spend.”
The borough council stated that it anticipates housing those evicted without cause for £5.25 million.
It has issued a warning that the state of affairs might result in a local housing catastrophe.
Landlords can issue Section 21 notices, or no-fault evictions, which give renters at least two months’ notice before requiring them to vacate.
A representative for the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities stated: “We recently announced £600m more funding councils throughout England because we appreciate the issues that councils are experiencing.
“For Crawley Council, this represents an increase of 5.8%, making available a total of £14.5m over the next financial year.”
He claimed that in order “to revive high streets, create jobs, and grow the local economy,” Crawley and the neighbouring districts would also receive a portion of the funds from Levelling Up.
