Purpose

Housing Revenue Account 30-Year Business Plan
and Housing Investment Plan 2025/26.

Decision

Cabinet approved the
following recommendations to Full Council for consideration at its
meeting on 5 March 2025:

·      
Approve the HRA revenue budget for 2025/26

·      
Note the HRA 5-year revenue budgets for 2025/26 to 2029/30 and HRA
30-year revenue budgets for 2025/26 to 2054/55

·      
Approve the HRA 5-year Capital Programme totalling
£916.204m

·      
Note the 30-year Capital Programme for 2024/25 to 2053/54 totalling
£2.537bn

·      
Approve the inclusion of all Fairer Westminster investments,
including the extension of the HRA Rent Support Fund by
£1.000m for 2025/26 to support tenants experiencing financial
difficulty during the cost-of-living crisis.

·      
Approve a rent increase of 2.7% from 1 April 2025 in line with the
maximum increase for social rent set by the national rent policy,
whilst noting that the Council continues to exercise its discretion
under the rent restructuring policy to set rents for re-lets (both
new tenants and transfers) up to formula target rent.

·      
Approve an increase of 1.7% to the fees charged for garages, sheds
and parking (in line with CPI at
September 2024) from 1 April 2025.

·      
Approve that tenant service charges be varied in line with
estimated actual costs for 2025/26, from 1 April 2025.

·      
Note the HRA reserves and balances for the 5-year Business Plan
 
Reasons for Decision: The Council is
required to set a budget for the Housing Revenue Account that
avoids a deficit and to prepare a 30-Year Business Plan for the HRA
on an annual basis to keep the long-term financial viability of the
HRA under regular review. Approval is also needed to set HRA tenant
rents and other charges for the financial year 2025/26.