Heating charges for council tenants will jump by almost £200 later this year, when residents feel the heat from the same gas price rises that hit private properties in 2008.

Merton Council will raise communal heating service charges by 37 per cent from April 5, a decision taken by councillors in January and announced to tenants this month. The council said it was not allowed to make a profit on utility charges, and was simply passing on the higher charge demanded by gas suppliers two years ago.

Tenants will have to cough up an extra £3.46 a week - adding up to an annual extra cost, including VAT, of £188.92. In March all of Merton’s council housing will be transferred to a new housing association, Merton Priory Homes, but tenants will inherit charges set by the council.

The rise comes at a time when gas prices for domestic consumers are falling, according to energy watchdog Consumer Focus. A spokesman for the organisation said average charges had dropped by 5 per cent from January 2009 to January 2010.

Jane Platts, head of social care at charity the Wimbledon Guild, said pleas for help from vulnerable people were likely to rise in the wake of higher gas charges.

The council also agreed an average rent rise for next year of £1.26 a week, or 1.6 per cent, at the meeting on January 18.

Councillor Linda Scott, the council’s cabinet member for housing and community services, said the rise reflected the actual increase in charges by the gas company. She said annual gas charges for council tenants were based on utility company estimates, so any difference in the actual cost during that period would appear in bills for later years.

She said: "We fully appreciate the challenges faced by many residents as a result of the difficult economic climate, which is why in 2010/11 the council is freezing weekly charges for caretaking, block cleaning, estate cleaning, landscaping, TV aerials, fire safety equipment maintenance, door entry and laundry facilities for tenants transferring to Merton Priory Homes."