Issue - items at meetings - Housing Revenue Account (HRA) Budget Setting 2025/26

The Housing Revenue Account (HRA) is a separate account within the council’s budgets that ring-fences the income and expenditure associated with council housing.

It sets out the proposals regarding increases to rents, service charges and other charges to tenants and leaseholders.

Arrangements for these increases are separate to arrangements for increasing fees elsewhere in the council and are set out in law and regulation. The report also sets out plans for expenditure on services to residents, repairs and improvements to homes and the provision of new homes taking into account new legal and regulatory requirements.

This report also demonstrates how council housing and spending within the HRA supports the council’s corporate strategy and objectives.

RECOMMENDED that Cabinet recommends that Council agrees: -

(a) The revenue budget for 2025/26 is set using the following principles:

(i) That dwelling rents are increased by 2.7 per cent (CPI for September 2024 + 1 per cent) from 7 April 2025 in line with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government Policy statement on rents for social housing published in February 2019 (Rent Policy Statement).

(ii) That garage, garage bases and parking plot rental charges are increased by 5 percent from 7 April 2025 and an additional £1.00 per week increase is made to garages in parts of Poole so that charges begin to align.

(iii) That leasehold services are charged to leaseholders in line with actual costs incurred.

(iv) That shared ownership dwelling rents are increased in line with lease terms.

(v) That the changes to services charges are agreed as set out in appendix 2.

(vi) That HRA reserves are set at £8.6 million.

(b) That the Income and Expenditure budget as set out in Appendix 3 is agreed;

(c) That capital budgets for 2025/26 are set using the following principles;

(i) That the major project capital programme as set out in Appendix 4 is noted.

(ii) That the planned maintenance programme as set out in Appendix 5 is agreed.

(iii) That £0.5 million for the acquisition of individual properties (Acquire and Repair) is agreed.

It is RESOLVED that Cabinet agrees:

(d) That further details of the medium- and long-term budget implications are presented to Cabinet during 2025/26 following the re-modelling of the 30-year HRA Business Plan.

Voting: Unanimous

Portfolio Holder: Housing and Regulatory Services

Reason

HRA rents and other changes along with the HRA Capital Programme are subject to review and require Cabinet and Council approval for rents and charges to be levied.

The Portfolio Holder for Housing and Regulatory Services presented a report, a copy of which had been circulated to each Member and a copy of which appears as Appendix 'C' to these Minutes in the Minute Book.

Cabinet was advised that the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) is a separate account within the council’s budgets that ring-fences the income and expenditure associated with council housing.

Cabinet was informed that the report sets out the proposals regarding increases to rents, service charges and other charges to tenants and leaseholders, and that the arrangements for these increases are separate to arrangements for increasing fees elsewhere in the council and are set out in law and regulation.

Cabinet was advised that the report also sets out plans for expenditure on services to residents, repairs and improvements to homes and the provision of new homes taking into account new legal and regulatory requirements.

Further to this Cabinet was informed that the report also demonstrates how council housing and spending within the HRA supports the council’s corporate strategy and objectives.

Thanks were expressed to officers for all their work on the budget setting.