Council house tenants on the Felixstowe peninsula are likely to see their rents increase by six percent.

The move was approved unanimously by East Suffolk council's cabinet and would see an average rent increase of £3.89 per week.

A vote in favour at a full council meeting on February 22 will be required to implement the increase from April.

The government imposed a seven percent cap on rent increases for the upcoming financial year.

Cllr Maurice Cook, cabinet member for resources, said at the meeting last Tuesday: "Shared ownership properties are not protected by the government's seven percent cap.

"However, East Suffolk Council will be applying a voluntary cap and these tenants will have the same six percent maximum increase as others."

The report presented to cabinet explains that social rents and affordable rents are calculated differently to other council house rents, so many tenants who pay these would experience a lower increase.

Social rents are based on a formula calculated by government that accounts for relative property values, local earnings and number of bedrooms. Generally, social rents must not be higher than this formula plus five percent.

Affordable rents are typically no higher than 80 percent of market rent – the average rent of properties in the area.

Service charge changes were also agreed by cabinet. The average weekly heating charge for sheltered homes would increase by £2.93 and the weekly general service charge would increase by £1.53, while the communal water charge would drop by £1.29 a week.

Last month, it was found that social housing tenants in East Suffolk will gain refunds totalling around £8 million and have rents recalculated after historical overcharging.

This related to a council decision in 2014 to start converting tenancies being re-let from social rent to affordable rent, to provide additional funding for new development.

The overcharging was a breach of the regulator of social housing's standards.