Council tenants in Perth and Kinross are facing a whopping 266% rise in the cost of having their grass cut and removed.
Pensioners and people with disabilities currently pay £2.38 a week for the garden maintenance scheme.
But Perth and Kinross Council is now warning residents it wants to increase the cost to £8.73 a week.
That works out at £453.96 a year, compared to £123.76 at present.
The council is also proposing an additional charge of £46.80 for a single annual hedge trim.
Hedges are currently managed at no extra charge.
The top-up will mean tenants with hedges have to pay more than £500 a year for a service that currently costs them less than £124.
One resident told The Courier the proposed rise would put the scheme beyond the means of the people who depend on it.
“I cannot see how any pensioner or disabled person will be able to afford this in future,” he said.
“Cynically I am thinking that is what the council want, so they can close the scheme completely.”
Perth and Kinross Council says the current charge doesn’t cover the cost of providing the service.
And it says that’s unfair on other tenants, who are having to make up the shortfall through the money they pay in rent.
Grass cutting changes fairer for all, says Perth and Kinross Council
The garden maintenance scheme is open to Perth and Kinross Council tenants aged 65 and over.
Tenants who are under 65 and physically disabled also qualify, so long as they are in receipt of the right benefits and there is no one who is over 16 and able-bodied in their home.
The payment entitles them to have their grass cut, bagged and removed every fortnight between April and October.
Regular strimming and hedge-cutting is also included.
The changes will be considered by Perth and Kinross Council’s housing and social wellbeing committee next week.
A council spokesperson said the service had been subsidised by the housing revenue account – the pot of money that pays for all housing services – for some years.
However, this account is now said to be facing “significant financial pressures”.
The spokesperson added: “As a result, we are proposing a new approach which would recover the full cost of the garden maintenance scheme through the charge we pass on to tenants who use the service.
“This would see the cost of the garden maintenance scheme increasing significantly for 2025/26.
“This would ensure fairness for all of our tenants and help ease financial pressure on the housing revenue account.”
If councillors approve the change, tenants will be informed of the next steps by letter.
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