Agenda item

Report of the Executive Director of Resources and Governance

The Cabinet Member with the Health and Housing Portfolio introduced the report (previously circulated) of the Executive Director of Resources and Governance requesting that consideration be given to the proposals for the revenue budget, capital programme, rent levels and service charges for the Council’s Housing Revenue Account (HRA) for the financial year 2026/27, in the context of the HRA Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) to 2029/30 and the 30-year Business Plan.

The submitted report stated that the Council was the largest provider of social housing in the Borough, providing 5,266 homes to local residents; those homes were of a high standard of accommodation that met the Decent Homes Standard; as a result of the high quality of the homes and the services provided they were in high demand; to meet that demand the Council had an ambitious programme to build new homes in Darlington, funded through capital receipts from the right to buy sales, grant funding and borrowing of £8.2m.; and that the HRA funded a Tenancy Sustainment Service to provide tenants with advice and support to address the financial challenges that they were facing. The proposed revenue budget expenditure of £32.042m included £7.579m to fund responsive repairs and maintenance and £12.261m contribution to the capital programme. The proposed capital programme of £22.119m included £1.352m for heating system replacements, £1.617m for property adaptations, structural works, external works and roofing, £2.025m for window and door replacements, £3.672m for kitchen and bathroom replacements, £5.237m to deliver energy efficiency measures to tackle climate change and £6.821m to complete capital schemes approved in previous years and to deliver our new build Council housing programme.

It was reported that the key decision to be made regarding the HRA each year was the balance between setting rent and service charge levels that were affordable to the Council’s tenants whilst ensuring there was sufficient resources to invest in housing stock, tackle climate change and maintain services; Local Authorities had the discretion to increase rents by the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) plus one per cent; CPI for September 2025 was 3.8 per cent which meant that Members could decide to increase rents by up to 4.8 per cent; and that consideration would need to be given to the current economic pressures facing tenants balanced against the need to maintain and improve the housing and deliver the capital and energy efficiency programme.

RESOLVED - It is proposed that the following recommendations are agreed for wider consultation:

(a) An average weekly rent increase of 4.8% for 2026-27 be implemented, giving an average social rent of £89.92 and affordable rent of £101.95.

(b) Garage rents and service charges are increased as shown in Table 3.

(c) The revenue budget at Appendix 1 is approved.

(d) The Housing Business Plan at Appendix 2 is agreed.

(e) The capital programme at Appendix 3 is approved.

REASON - To enable the Council to deliver an appropriate level of services to tenants to meet housing need and to support the economic growth of the Borough through housing development.