Harrogate council writes-off thousands of pounds it is owed in debts from housing tenants

Coun Graham Swift, deputy leader and cabinet member for resources, enterprise and economic development, signed off a decision to take a loss on the arrears - most of which were from former tenants who have died.

"In a rent roll of over £4million, this is a small amount to write off and is often brought by extreme hardship or death," Coun Swift told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

A spokesman for the council has confirmed the actual rent roll figure to be £16million.

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The total amount of debts written off for 2019/20 was £41,327 - up almost £1,800 when compared to the previous financial year.

As well as deaths, the other reasons why some bills were left unpaid include debtors being untraceable or having no assets to cover the outstanding costs.

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In one case, a small debt of £13.60 was written off because the tenant was jailed.

The largest single debt of £1,627 was cancelled because the debtor disappeared with no forwarding address and was untraceable through the National Anti-Fraud Network (NAFN).

By Jacob Webster, Local Democracy Reporter