RENT arrears amounting to more than £1m are being written off because council house tenants have vanished.
A leading Tory councillor has spoken out against rent-dodgers allowed to get away with non-payment totalling £1.24 million this year.
Angry Kirklees councillor Christine Smith said forfeiting such massive amounts of revenue sent out completely the wrong message.
Clr Smith was one of only two people who voted against writing off debts accrued by former tenants worth £1,239,414 at a meeting of Kirklees Neighbourhood Housing's main board. Their decision now has to go to Cabinet members for the green light.
Clr Smith said unscrupulous tenants were being given an easy ride.
People who left without a forwarding address saved themselves £795,277.
"That's unbelievable," said Clr Smith. "They are moving on and we don't even have a forwarding address."
She said there were `ways and means' of drastically cutting loss of revenue from people moving away.
The losses from rents `not viable to pursue further' amount to £353,575. "The people just disappear into the woodwork. Again, that's quite a high figure."
Debts of the deceased look likely to be written off to a tune of £43,232.
Clr Smith said more action should be taken to pursue cash owed as householders often did have the means to pay.
"We are not talking poverty here."
Former tenant arrears total £2,909,696.
A council spokes- woman said: "We have collected more of these than in previous years and are pleased with the increased collection rate."
The sum for current rent arrears is £2,075,771 which is the lowest they have been since at least April, 2000.
The spokeswoman added: "We are very pleased with the reduction we have achieved. The figures are improving tremendously but there is still a long way to go."
