The pressure on social housing finances at the local level could undermine the Government’s ambition to build 1.5 million houses this parliament, council chiefs warn.
A Local Government Association (LGA) survey looking at the financial stability of Housing Revenue Accounts (HRAs) revealed that 72% of all respondent councils with an HRA are 'very' or 'fairly' likely to draw down on reserves to balance budgets for 2025/26.
All of the survey respondents said they would likely increase council housing rents with 67% also expecting to reduce real terms spending on supervision and management, and 57% on repairs and maintenance.
While the Government is consulting on a long-term rent settlement for the sector and is offering CPI+1% over five years, only 38% were confident that this would allow them to invest in planned new build programmes.
The survey also found that only 61% of respondents said that they were ‘very’ or ‘fairly’ confident that this settlement would allow then to balance their budgets.
The LGA is calling on the Government to use the Spending Review to restore over £600m in lost revenue due to the rent cap in 2024/25 and to provide a long-term rent settlement that supports financial stability for HRAs.
It added that without immediate support local authorities would struggle to finance new affordable homes, undermining the Government’s plans to build 1.5 million homes over the next five years.
