NEW council house tenants in Burnley have been hit with a triple whammy -- pushing up rents on scores of lower priced properties by 200 per cent.

Rents for around 160 mainly terrace houses costing £20 a week to existing tenants will soar to £60 when new occupiers move in.

The move comes just three months after Burnley and Padiham Community Housing took over the council's entire 5,300-home stock with the promise of fixed rent guarantees for existing tenants and a one-off rise of just 20 per cent for new occupiers.

There will also be big rises for thousands of estate houses in a new re-let rent policy to reflect size and facilities.

The Lancashire Evening Telegraph can reveal that rents for similar semis -- ranging from an average of £30 to £75 -- will be rents set at £60 for two bedroom houses, £63 for three bedroom and £65 for four bedroom homes against the current average of £48.

The shake-up, which was not mentioned in the lead up to stock transfer, confirms the worst fears of critics like Pendle housing director John Kirk, who predicted major rent rises would follow the sell-off.

Burnley Council critic and Independent Group leader Harry Brooks, who quit the board of the new company earlier this year, condemned it as a "betrayal". Changes will not yet affect existing tenants who have a guarantee that rent rises will be held to inflation plus one per cent for five years.

Company chief executive Ian Saville today revealed that existing tenants would also be subject to the shake-up at the end of the guarantee period.

He denied the company had not been up front on the issue and said the short term pain of the changes was outweighed by the long term benefits and would lead to fair rents. He said more than 200 tenants paying more than £61 per week would enjoy a rent freeze for up to five years, costing the company over £4million.

"It is a question of swings and roundabouts. The aim is to reflect the type of properties and the facilities on offer," he explained. "They may seem big increases, but they are not huge and we are not out of kilter in what we are asking for these properties.

"Our rents will still be lower than comparable rents demanded by housing associations and private landlords. We are not making money out of this," he added.