Birmingham City Council have jointly published a report with England’s other largest council landlords to publish solutions that will secure the future of council housing.
Birmingham City Council has today joined with England’s other largest council landlords – including Southwark, Bristol, Sheffield, Leeds, Birmingham and Dudley – to jointly publish 5 solutions for the new government to ‘secure the future of England’s council housing’.
Back in March, Directors from this cross party group of 20 local authorities gathered at a Summit to address an increasingly urgent financial crisis. Ahead of their full report release later this year, authored by Toby Lloyd and Rose Grayston, this interim release summarises their recommendations.
The report warns that England’s council housing system is broken and its future is in danger. An unsustainable financial model and erratic national policy changes have squeezed their budgets and sent costs soaring. New analysis from Savills shows that councils’ housing budgets will face a £2.2bn ‘black hole’ by 2028.
Unless something is done soon, it reports that 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.
Their 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 HRA model – including an urgent £644 million one-off rescue 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
They make up a plan for a ‘decade of renewal’, with local authorities and central government working together to get ‘Housing Revenue Accounts’ (HRAs) back on stable foundations, bring all homes up to modern and green standards, and deliver the next generation of council homes.
Councillor Jayne Francis, Birmingham City Council’s Cabinet Member for Housing and Homelessness, said:
“The demand for accommodation in Birmingham has never been higher. Since 2019, we have seen an increase in homelessness presentations of around 70 per cent. Currently, Birmingham has around 25,000 people on the housing register seeking a home.
“I see every day how council homes change lives for the better. Having a quality home to call your own gives people the stable platform they need to live a healthy life and to live it well. We want everyone in Birmingham to live in a warm, safe, sustainable home.
“Our current rate of house building cannot keep up with the current level of demand. If we continue as we are, the number of people that will benefit from the security provided by a good quality council home will dwindle. Urgent action is needed and we want to work with the new government to deliver more and better council homes that our city badly needs.”
Councillor Kieron Williams, Leader of Southwark Council, said:
“Our country’s largest council landlords have come together because we see every day how council homes transform lives for the better. For families across our country their council home is a foundation – giving them the security needed to put down roots, flourish in childhood, get on at work, stay healthy and age well.
However, erratic policy choices from our last government have left council housing finances completely broken and the system’s future is in danger. Councils are being forced to cancel new build developments, and even sell off council homes, to focus on keeping their existing residents safe.
We are releasing this interim report now, from England’s largest council landlords, because we want to work with the new government from day one to deliver the more and better council homes that our communities need. With a growing number of council landlords on the brink, urgent action is needed to but our national council housing finances back on firm foundations. Our 5 solutions set out how we can work together to achieve this, and to secure council housing for generations to come.”