At an event held in Westminster on 3 September, more than 100 council landlords jointly published five recommendations for the government to ‘secure the future of England’s council housing.’
City of Lincoln Council is proud to be one of the councils supporting these recommendations.
The report, led by Southwark Council, warned that England’s council housing system is broken, and that urgent action is needed for the government to deliver its housing promises.
In July, twenty of the largest council landlords published an interim summary of their recommendations. Significant traction – including an urgent meeting with the Deputy Prime Minister - has led to over 80 more councils backing their recommendations and signing the final report.
This more detailed report sets out a full roadmap to renew our country’s council housing over the next decade and critical policy changes for the realisation of the new government’s social housing ambitions.
It explains how an unsustainable financial model and erratic national policy changes have squeezed councils’ housing budgets and sent costs soaring. New analysis from Savills shows they will face a £2.2bn ‘black hole’ by 2028.
They warn that unless more is done soon, most council landlords will struggle to maintain their existing homes adequately or meet the huge new demands to improve them, let alone build new homes for social rent. Across the country development projects are being cancelled and delayed, with huge implications for the local construction sector, jobs and housing market.
Rather than increasing supply, the reality is that some councils will have no option but to sell more of their existing stock to finance investment in an ever-shrinking portfolio of council homes.
The recommendations include urgent action to restore lost income and unlock local authority capacity to work with the new government to deliver its promises for new, affordable homes throughout the country.
The five solutions set out detailed and practical recommendations to the new government:
- A new fair and sustainable Housing Revenue Account (HRA) model – including an urgent £644 million one-off rescue financial injection, and long-term, certain rent and debt agreements.
- Reforms to unsustainable Right to Buy policies
- Removing red tape on existing funding
- A new, long-term Green & Decent Homes Programme
- Urgent action to restart stalled building projects, avoiding the loss of construction sector capacity and a market downturn
These make up a plan for a ‘decade of renewal’, with local authorities and central government working together to get HRAs back on stable foundations, bring all homes up to modern and green standards, and deliver the next generation of council homes.
City of Lincoln Council owns and maintains around 7,800 Council homes, which represents around 20 per cent of Lincoln’s total number of domestic properties. Building more council homes is a key priority to make affordable, local housing more accessible to the growing community. The council’s 30-year housing plan contains a commitment to invest more than £1.5 billion into council homes during its lifespan. As part of this commitment, the council is also in the process of carrying out stock condition surveys across its current housing stock to plan for home improvements and maintenance.
Portfolio Holder for Quality Housing, Cllr Donald Nannestad, said:
“Our participation in this unprecedented coalition is a testament to our commitment to tackling these challenges head-on.
“We have already raised the issues mentioned in the report and have been working closely with the new local MP for Lincoln on these housing related issues. In addition, we are actively working in accordance with Labour’s new Housing Minister, Matthew Pennycook, to ensure our efforts align with the national agenda for tackling the housing crisis. The five recommendations proposed in the report, if adopted by the government, will allow councils up and down the country to ensure the construction of new, much-needed council homes.
“Our residents deserve safe, modern, and affordable homes, but without urgent changes to the way council housing is funded and managed, we risk falling short of this goal. By supporting these recommendations, we are standing up for our residents and ensuring that Lincoln remains a place where everyone has the opportunity to thrive in a decent and affordable home.
“We hope that the substance of the report will be reflected in the upcoming Autumn Statement, helping to positively impact the Housing Revenue Account and ensuring that councils like Lincoln can deliver affordable homes for our residents. We urge the government to listen to our collective voice and take the necessary steps to make this vision a reality.”