LUXURY waterfront flats are being rented out to the needy for as little as £53 a week, it cen be revealed today.

The bargain basement price, less than the cost of filling up a Ford Mondeo, is available to scores of people on the council's housing register as part of a deal struck by town chiefs.

In total there are currently around 134 waterfront properties being rented out to people on the council's housing register which includes single mums and the out of work.

This figure is set to surge to more than 300 as current and future developments, including Regatta Quay and Cranfield Mill, are completed.

Plush single-bedroom flats, which can cost private buyers upwards of £150,000, incurring a mortgage of potentially more than £1,200-a-month, are being snapped up for just £212 a month on the housing register.

Meanwhile lavish dockside four bedroom-homes are available for just £328 a month.

The situation is possible because the law says new developments must include social housing.

Ipswich Borough Council is making construction firms designate a quarter of all homes on developments as affordable housing with 35 per cent of these available for shared ownership and 65 pc for rented social housing.

For a development like Cranfield Mills, which has around 340 flats, around 55 flats will be let on the housing register with a further 30 being available for shared ownership.

Steven Wells, responsible for housing at Ipswich Borough Council, said developers were initially reluctant to offer social housing, arguing they wanted to be able to market properties as “exclusive apartments”.

“The stance we take is we have a duty of care to provide as many affordable homes as we possibly can,” he said.

“There are some people who are living in what would be very expensive properties, if on the open market, at social rented levels.”

Mr Wells said some developers choose to offer the council cash to develop specialist affordable housing sites elsewhere in the town rather than incorporate them into existing schemes.

1 bedroom flat £53 a week - £212 a month
2 bedroom flat £67 a week - £268 a month
3 bedroom house £71 a week - £284 a month

Meanwhile lavish dockside four bedroom-homes are available for just £328 a month.

Why is it always bloody single mums and the unemployed that get this stuff, they already get everything else for FREE!!!! I'd pay them £500 a month for one of those four bed houses and it would still be cheaper than my one bed flat.

Because a lot of working chumps decided to vote labour in last time, when the party was not looking in good shape and now they're all grumpy that they're working their ar*e off to pay for some lardy chavs to breed like rabbits and pop out chavspawn that grow up and smash up their cars and beat up their children. To those people, I say.. suck it, b*tches. Enjoy your new 20p tax rate.

I really wish we could have 3 seperate working governments in Britian, complete with seperate tax pools... whoever votes for a party has that party's policies apply to them. Whoever refuses to vote is immediately lumped with the policies of the majority party.

The scots aren't stupid, they're already brute-forcing this one into action with their parliament, and look at what it's got them... free university education for their kids and a whole host of other benefits.

Why is it always bloody single mums and the unemployed that get this stuff, they already get everything else for FREE!!!! I'd pay them £500 a month for one of those four bed houses and it would still be cheaper than my one bed flat.

Renting sure as hell isn't dead money if you can get one of those.

Say you're 30 and married with children... £328/month, every month until you die .. that's about £200k. Someone with a 20-year mortgage buying it outright would pay 2x or 3x that amount.

With the council your tenancy is secure as well.

Because a lot of working chumps decided to vote labour in last time, when the party was not looking in good shape and now they're all grumpy that they're working their ar*e off to pay for some lardy chavs to breed like rabbits and pop out chavspawn that grow up and smash up their cars and beat up their children. To those people, I say.. suck it, b*tches. Enjoy your new 20p tax rate.

I really wish we could have 3 seperate working governments in Britian, complete with seperate tax pools... whoever votes for a party has that party's policies apply to them. Whoever refuses to vote is immediately lumped with the policies of the majority party.

The scots aren't stupid, they're already brute-forcing this one into action with their parliament, and look at what it's got them... free university education for their kids and a whole host of other benefits.