Tenants only: introduction to housing budget for 2026 to 2027 consultation
Consultation closes: Sunday, 1 February 2026
Consultation opened: Wednesday, 17 December 2025
The rent you pay makes up the Housing Revenue Account (HRA).
The HRA is a ring-fenced part of our budget. It is used only for the costs and income related to council housing; things like building, managing, maintaining and repairing council homes.
The money comes from:
- rent from council tenants (main source of income)
- service charges (for things like communal cleaning, grounds maintenance, or caretaking)
- occasional income from selling a housing asset
- prudential borrowing, which must be repaid from future HRA income
The money can be spent on:
- repairs and maintenance of council homes
- major works (e.g. roof replacements, energy efficiency upgrades)
- housing management
- building new council homes
- servicing HRA borrowing
- estate improvements
- compliance with safety and legal standards
Because the HRA is ring-fenced, it cannot be used for wider council services such as social care, libraries, or waste collection.
We are proposing a rent increase of 4.8% for 2026/27, in line with the Regulator of Social Housing’s Rent Standard (Consumer Price Index 3.8% plus 1%).