Issue - meetings

This report is due to be pre-scrutinised at a meeting of the Budget Scrutiny Working Group scheduled to take place on Monday 10^th January 2022.  Any recommendations on this subject will be reported for the consideration of the Executive Committee in a supplementary pack.

The Executive Director of Resources presented the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) Rent Setting report 2022/23.  The Executive Committee was informed that there were strict Government guidelines in respect of rent setting by Councils and these had been followed when calculating the proposed rent to be paid by Council tenants in the 2022/23 financial year.  In total, a 4.1 per cent increase to rents for Council properties was being recommended.

The Portfolio Holder for Housing and Procurement, in proposing the recommendations, commented that a 4.1 per cent increase to rents was below inflation.  This, together with other Council pressures, would potentially have implications for the HRA moving forward.

RECOMMENDED that

1)         the actual average rent increase for 2022/23 be set as September 2021 CPI, 3.1%, plus 1% resulting in an increase of 4.1%; and

2)         when void social rent properties are re-let. The rent will be set at the recalculated Target Rent (Formula Rent) for the new tenant.