Group Facilitators Feedback Form WNC Draft Budget 2025 to 2026 Consultation

Closes 21 Jan 2025

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Draft Housing Revenue Account (HRA) Budget 2025 to 2026 and Medium Term Financial Plan

Local housing authorities are required by law to keep a Housing Revenue Account (HRA).

This HRA holds the budgets for the Council’s housing provision, identifying the major elements of expenditure and how these are funded, mainly from rents. Any money that enters the HRA, can only be spent on maintaining and improving social housing, including building new homes.

The Council has a housing stock which is managed by its arms-length management organisation, Northamptonshire Partnership Homes (NPH).

Read more about the Housing Revenue Account

There are strict rules surrounding the costs and income that can be charged to the HRA. Much of the income and expenditure is dictated by legislation and regulation leaving the Council with limited direct control over a number of these budgets.

The Rent Standard 2023 which is a national policy ordinarily allows annual rent increases on both social rent and affordable rent properties of up to the rate of inflation (Consumer Price Index - CPI) plus 1 per cent. The CPI in September 2024 showed an increase of 1.7 per cent.

The proposals

There are plans to invest £77m in social housing during the next financial year, which forms part of a total five-year capital programme amounting to £261m.

The investment in 2025-26 includes:     

  • £8m on external improvements,                              
  • £7m on internal improvements,                                         
  • £6m on structural works and safety compliance ,
  • £3m on energy efficiency, heating and ventilation, and window upgrades,
  • £2.3m on adaptations (for disabilities),
  • £39m on new build programmes and major projects,
  • £10m on buying back social housing and acquiring suitable properties.

The Council and NPH are proposing to increase rent from 1 April 2025 by 2.7 per cent, on average across the Council’s housing stock in line with national government policy. This will raise the average rent from £111.79 to £114.80 per week, which is an increase of £3.01 per week. This increase will help to manage the increasing costs that are also being experienced in this area. We continue to provide support to tenants facing difficulties with the increase in rent, by rolling over any unspent funding from the previous year’s hardship fund.

The Council and NPH are also proposing an increase of 2.7 per cent for tenant and leaseholder service charges, and to increase garage and commuter surcharges by 2.7 per cent. This will increase the average rent per garage from £11.80 to £12.12 and the commuter surcharge from £18.75 to £19.26 per week.

 

12. To what extent do you agree or disagree with the proposal to increase rent by 2.7 per cent (an average increase of £3.01 per week) across the Council’s housing stock managed by Northampton Partnership Homes (NPH)?

Example: What would a 2.7 per cent increase mean for a local authority tenant?

As an example, a 2.7 per cent increase would result in a rise on average rents from £111.79 to £114.80 per week (an increase of £3.01 per week) for 2025 to 2026 for the average NPH tenant.

13. Use the following space if you would like to tell us why you answered the previous question in the way that you did:
14. If you think this proposal might have a negative effect, please use the space below to explain what that effect could be and suggest ways to avoid it:
15. To what extent do you agree or disagree with the proposal to increase garage rents by 2.7 per cent (an increase of £0.32p per week)?
16. To what extent do you agree or disagree with the proposal to increase general service charges by 2.7 per cent?
17. To what extent do you agree or disagree with the planned investment of £77m for social housing during 2025 to 2026?
18. Use the following space should you have any further comments on the HRA Capital programme:
19. If you have any other comments you would like to make about the details within the Draft Housing Revenue Account (HRA) Budget report and its appendices, that you have not already told us, then please tell us here:

Thank you for your feedback, once you select Continue below, you will be taken back to the Contents page where you have the option to make further representations on other areas if necessary.

If you do not wish to comment on other areas, please scroll to the bottom of the Contents page and select Finish.