This meeting included for discussion a review of the financial plans for the Housing Revenue Account (HRA), a consultation update on the Local Plan¹ and the election of a new Vice-Chair. The meeting also included a proposed reduction of the charges paid by residents for communal heating and hot water and an amendment to the Council's policy for setting rents in Council owned properties.

Housing Revenue Account

The report pack for this meeting includes a detailed review of the Housing Revenue Account HRA² budget and spending plans, including the Council's plans for major works on its housing stock. It also lays out the Council's preferred approach to setting rents and service charges for 2025-2026.

The report pack proposes a series of new capital projects totalling £83.605 million for addition to the existing approved programme. This would create an overall capital commitment of £626.655 million over a 4 year period. The report pack says that this demonstrates the Council’s ongoing commitment to maintaining existing stock and continuing to invest in the delivery of new affordable housing.

Repairs & Improvements

The report pack says that the proposed additions to the capital programme include £50.674 million for Repairs & Improvements on the existing housing stock. This includes:

• £19.5 million for roof and window renewals, £1 million of which would be for street properties.
• £4.9 million for kitchen and bathroom renewals.
• £25 million for schemes that will improve energy efficiency.

The report pack explains the justification for these works:

It is recognised that the original 2012 stock condition survey was produced when the landscape for social housing landlords was very different. Since then responsibilities relating to zero carbon and building/fire safety have increased considerably which, in part, will be driving the requirement to increase the base level of financial resources available for capital works as will the increased focus by the regulator and the need to bring existing stock back up to the 100% decency target.

Environmental & Estate Improvements

The report pack proposes £2.705 million for Environmental & Estate Improvements, including:

• Refurbishment of clubrooms at the Focus Hall on the Alton Estate.
• Refurbishment of a clubroom on the Henry Prince Estate.

The works at the Focus Hall and on the Henry Prince Estate would be funded by a grant from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.

Site Developments

The report pack proposes £19.110 million for Site Developments, covering:

• New additions to the capital programme at Eastwood North and South and at Skeena Hill.
• Work to continue to take a number of pipeline schemes to a stage where formal approval would be required.

The report pack explains:

The expectation is that overall the Homes for Wandsworth programme will still be contained within the £338 million net cost estimate last reported to Housing Overview and Scrutiny Committee in November 2023.

Regeneration

The report pack proposes £11.116 million for Regeneration, covering:

• Continuing project team costs and specialist consultancy advice for the Winstanley and York Road regeneration.
• HRA elements of the Alton Early Improvement Programme on Downshire Field.
• The Roehampton Community Hub.

Rents and Service Charges

The report pack proposes that rent charges for all existing tenants in council owned properties be increased by a maximum of 2.7% from the first Monday in April 2025. It also proposes that for other properties, including those previously sold under Right to Part Buy, Equity Share and Social Homebuy options, rents be increased by a maximum of 2.7% from the first Monday in April 2025.

The report pack explains that:

The September 2024 CPI is 1.7%, which would therefore equate to a maximum allowable rent increase of 2.7% from April 2025.

It also proposes that tenants' service charges continue to be set on a cost recovery basis, with a general individual cap of 2.7% applied, except in exceptional cases.

Local Capping on Rent Increases

The report pack proposes an amendment to the Council’s existing rent policy. This relates to the local cap on rent increases, which currently means that tenants whose rent is higher than 45% of the Total Welfare Benefit Cap³ (TWBC) do not have their rent increased. The report pack proposes to remove this local cap, meaning that these tenants' rents would be increased by up to 2.7%. It says that the retention of the local cap will increasingly limit the growth of the income base below that intended by national policy. The report pack includes the proposed revised rent policy (Appendix G). It also includes an Equality Impact Needs Assessment (Appendix H) which analyses the impact of the proposed change on different groups of tenants.

Non-Residential Charges

The report pack also proposes that non-residential charges for things like garages, storesheds and parking be increased by an average of 2.2% with effect from the first Monday in April 2025. It is estimated that this would generate an additional £0.74 million. The proposed charges are set out in Appendix D of the report pack.

Heating and Hot Water Account

The report pack proposes a 20% reduction in the charges paid by residents for communal heating and hot water, to be implemented with effect from the first Monday in April 2025.

The report pack says:

To reflect the substantial reduction in gas prices this year we are proposing to pass on a reduction of 20% to our residents for 2025/26. This will ensure that a small surplus remains on the account to allow for any further fluctuations in this volatile market.

It explains that the charges were increased by 270% for 2023/24 due to extreme market increases, and that the Council agreed to operate the account at a deficit to keep charges low for residents. It explains that Despite predictions of significant long-term energy cost drops, January 2023 projections indicated consistent 10% increases for 2024/25 to 2026/27. Charges were subsequently increased by 10% for 2024/25, and the balance on the account is predicted to be a deficit of £653,000 at the end of 2024/25.

Local Plan - Consultation Update

The report pack says that Daniel Goodman, Principal Planner (Policy and Information), was scheduled to provide a verbal update on the Local Plan consultation at the meeting.

Election of Vice-Chair

The report pack notes that Mrs Marlene Price, Scholey House Residents' Association, and Mr Thomas Glockner, Platt Residents’ Association, had been nominated in advance of the agenda being published for the position of Vice-Chair. It states that Nominees will be given the opportunity, if they so wish, of making a short presentation to cover matters such as the relevant experience they can bring to the post. The meeting was scheduled to elect the Vice-Chair by secret ballot following nominations.