BURNLEY Council is being urged to take out a High Court injunction to stop Burnley and Padiham Housing raising rents by up to 200 per cent.

Independent Group leader Harry Brooks, claims Burnley's biggest landlord is in breach of a legally-binding commitment to keep rises to new tenants to a one-off 20 per cent increase.

He says hundreds of new tenants face increases well in excess of that figure following the company's announcement -- just four months after buying the council housing stock -- that rents for all houses will go to set levels above £60-a-week.

He said that would cost new tenants -- coming in at a rate of 700 a year -- hundreds of thousands of pounds in extra rent demands over the five year rent guarantee period.

Now Coun Brooks is demanding the company scrap its policy -- or face court action to force it to do so and to repay cash to tenants.

He has written to Burnley Council's acting chief officer Susan Walsh, calling for immediate action to prevent the company implementing parts of the new rents structure, which, he says, are in breach of the transfer agreement with the council. He says: "If the company will not do this voluntarily, then an injunction should be sought." The Lancashire Evening Telegraph revealed two months ago that the company had raised its lowest rents of £20 to £60 a week -- a 200 per cent rise.

New tenants moving in to homes now costing less than £50-a-week will also be caught in the 20 per cent-plus trap and new tenants will form the majority in Burnley's 5,300 former council homes within four years.

Coun Brooks says the company is also in breach of a promise not to revise rents, to levels based on the facilities provided at a house, for five years. The company, which is holding its annual meeting at Turf Moor tonight, has said it has done this as an interim measure for new tenants. Company chief executive Ian Saville, said today the company was looking into the issues raised by Coun Brooks, but insisted Burnley and Padiham Housing had not broken any promises.

He said while lower rents had risen, the highest rents had been frozen and the rise on average was 20 per cent.

Mrs Walsh confirmed she had received Coun Brooks' letter, which would be passed on to the council's finance director who would deal with the issue.

She added it was not appropriate to comment further at this stage.