Agenda item

That Cabinet agrees:

1.    To approve the Housing Revenue Account 2023/24 budget for council homes as set out in Table 1.

2.    To approve £1.1m of ongoing annual revenue savings (when compared to the 2022/23 base budget) per annum from 2023/24.

3.    To approve a rent increase of 4.4% from 3 April 2023, which equates to an average weekly increase for tenants of £5.20 in 2023/24.

4.    To approve an increase to shared ownership rents of 7% from 3 April 2023.

5.    To approve changes to tenant service charges to reflect the costs of providing communal services from 3 April 2023, which equate to an average weekly increase for tenants of 95pin 2023/24.

6.    To approve an increase to charges for heating and hot water to reflect the costs of provision of the district heating service from 3 April 2023, which equate to an average weekly increase for tenants and leaseholders on the scheme of £2.75 (communal heating), £10.90 (tenants’ personal heating) and £13.78 (leaseholders’ personal heating) in 2023/24.

7.    To approve an increase to the management fee for temporary on licence properties of 7% from 3 April 2023.

8.    To approve an increase to the rent and service charges for hostels of 7% from 3 April 2023.

9.    To increase garage charges for council tenants, resident leaseholders, and for other customers from April 2023 by 7%.

10.To note that any change to parking charges on housing estates will be considered separately with the Council’s parking plans.

11.To increase car space rental charges for all customers by 7% from April 2023.

12.To approve an increase in the Leasehold After Sale – Home Buy Fees by 7% from April 2023 from £203 to £217.

Councillor Sharon Holder declared a non-pecuniary interest as a Council Tenant. She considered that this did not give rise to a perception of a conflict of interests and, in the circumstances, it would be reasonable to participate in the discussion and vote thereon.

Councillor Frances Umeh stated that the Council had made a commitment to improve and invest in homes over the coming years. The Council was investing more than £700m over 12 years (over £1m a week) for major improvement work to existing homes as well as supporting the energy efficiency programme. In addition, there was a commitment to build 3,000 new energy efficient affordable homes within the next few years as well as strengthening the services offered to residents. To achieve that it was crucial that the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) maintained financial resilience.

Councillor Rowan Ree stated that the Council was fully aware of the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on many tenants. Therefore rents would only be increased by 4.4% rather than the 7% cap introduced by the Government. By increasing the charges the HRA would remain sustainable and resilient.

Councillor Adronie Alford expressed her concerns about the HRA. She noted that large savings had been made on the current financial year that were the result of increased income being raised. Therefore, in order to make the account balance it had been necessary to raise the income rather than making savings. She asked if the Council was certain that £1.1m of ongoing annual revenue savings per annum would be enough to balance the accounts considering the inflation and other factors.

The Leader stressed that the Council was committed to not raising rates again this year. They had achieved a balance between managing the HRA account while trying to minimise the impact of increased charges on tenants. He clarified that in Local Government revenue increases were considered savings. The Leader stated that the Council was investing greatly into repairing housing stock as there was a large backlog of investment needed.

In relation to a question from Councillor Alford regarding the high cost of service charges, the Leader replied that leaseholder charges had been kept very low over the last eight years; however, despite genuine concerns for leaseholders facing the cost-of-living crisis, with the challenging economy there was no easy option.

The Leader also addressed Councillor Alford’s concerns in relation to the poor performance of contractors, particularly on repairs. He noted that Covid and Brexit had made labour scarce and significantly increased building costs but ensuring contract delivery was a high priority to the Council.

AGREED UNANIMOUSLY BY THE CABINET MEMBERS:

That Cabinet agrees:

1.    To approve the Housing Revenue Account 2023/24 budget for council homes as set out in Table 1.

2.    To approve £1.1m of ongoing annual revenue savings (when compared to the 2022/23 base budget) per annum from 2023/24.

3.    To approve a rent increase of 4.4% from 3 April 2023, which equates to an average weekly increase for tenants of £5.20 in 2023/24.

4.    To approve an increase to shared ownership rents of 7% from 3 April 2023.

5.    To approve changes to tenant service charges to reflect the costs of providing communal services from 3 April 2023, which equate to an average weekly increase for tenants of 95pin 2023/24.

6.    To approve an increase to charges for heating and hot water to reflect the costs of provision of the district heating service from 3 April 2023, which equate to an average weekly increase for tenants and leaseholders on the scheme of £2.75 (communal heating), £10.90 (tenants’ personal heating) and £13.78 (leaseholders’ personal heating) in 2023/24.

7.    To approve an increase to the management fee for temporary on licence properties of 7% from 3 April 2023.

8.    To approve an increase to the rent and service charges for hostels of 7% from 3 April 2023.

9.    To increase garage charges for council tenants, resident leaseholders, and for other customers from April 2023 by 7%.

10.To note that any change to parking charges on housing estates will be considered separately with the Council’s parking plans.

11.To increase car space rental charges for all customers by 7% from April 2023.

12.To approve an increase in the Leasehold After Sale – Home Buy Fees by 7% from April 2023 from £203 to £217.