Housing chiefs are drawing up a drastic action plan to meet a shock £1.7 million deficit on the books.

Management jobs will be axed to save £1.1 million in a bid to put the housing revenue account in the black. And tenants face a £1 a week rent increase.

Houses and land could also be sold off to meet the shortfall. Next week's Executive Committee will be recommended to agree the £1 a week rent increase from April.

But the annual increase is being kept to the rate of inflation at 2.8 per cent, despite the crisis. It is also below the Government's £1.37 guideline for Bradford.

Today Tory and Liberal Democrat councillors claimed tenants would end up paying more for less, and that housing finance was out of control.

Labour housing chief Jim O'Neill said the main reason for the shortfall was the sale of bargain houses to large numbers of former tenants under the Right to Buy scheme. He said the number of council-owned homes had dropped by 4,000 in the last seven years to 26,000.

That in turn meant a huge drop in rent proceeds into the housing revenue account which deals with services, including repairs. He said the Council may now look at the cost of refurbishing its houses and decide in some cases if it would be better to sell them.

Housing land would also go up for grabs to developers and housing associations, with proceeds ploughed into the estates.

But the good news for tenants is a pledge by Coun O'Neill to set aside £3 million improving four small estates, yet to be chosen.

It follows complaints from tenants that their homes are neglected while millions of pounds go into the large estates. But the Council is compelled by law to have the deficit cleared during the financial year beginning in March. Coun O'Neill said they had even raided housing reserves by about £500,000 to protect the service in the current year.

He said the housing repairs budget of £16 million would only be slightly cut. He said talks would be held with unions on the management cuts "but there are now fewer houses to manage."

The rent increase in April will also apply to Council services, including caretakers. But leader of the Council's Tory group Councillor Margaret Eaton said: "However much he juggles the figures, tenants will pay more to get fewer repairs done."

And Coun Jeanette Sunder- land, Liberal Democrat leader said: "It is a sad indictment of Labour's mismanagement of housing in Bradford.

"Tenants will get fewer repairs, and now they are savaging the staff."

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