At a special meeting yesterday, approval was given for the rise, increasing the average rent by £5.43 per week over the 48-week rental period, from £90.37 in 2025/26 to £95.61 in 2026/27.

Stirling Council’s average rent last year was the second lowest of all local authorities in Scotland, and the new rate supports the view of the majority of council tenants who responded to a consultation.

Tenants were consulted in November and December 2025 on potential rate increases of 5.8%, 6.4% or 6.8%, with the majority of residents who responded (60%) supporting a 5.8% increase.

Stirling Council said its rents are, on average, 26% lower than other social landlords in the local area and 11% lower than peer local authorities.

Supported by the rental income, £28.7m will be invested in the housing stock in 2026/27, which will enable the development of 126 new homes. The delivery of these homes will be supported by around £9.7m of grant funding from the Scottish Government.

Approximately £1.95m of the total income will be spent on the installation of 228 new kitchens in council houses, with 195 bathrooms also to be replaced at a cost of around £1.26m.

A central heating programme, focusing on the replacement of outdated boilers and inefficient heating systems, will also see investment of around £1.41m in 372 homes, while £1.14m will go to the replacement of windows in 220 local houses.

A further £1.75m will be committed to install around 220 solar panel systems to council properties.

Stirling Council leader, Cllr Susan McGill, said: “This decision strikes a careful balance between keeping rents as affordable as possible for our tenants, while ensuring we can continue to invest in warm, safe, high-quality homes.

“In particular, we remain committed to improving energy efficiency, which is not only good for the environment but, crucially, helps reduce the number of tenants living in fuel poverty.

“Our rents are consistently among the lowest in Scotland and the £28.7m investment will support vital improvements to improve existing homes, as well as bringing additional homes into our council stock.”

Stirling Council will now write to its tenants to notify them of the rent increase for their properties for 2026/27.