The Director of Environment and Neighbourhood Services submitted a report setting out a proposal to set rents for permanent homes built as part of the Council’s Local Authority New Build programme at an ‘Adjusted Target Rent’.  An Equality Impact Assessment for the proposal was attached to the report at Appendix 1.

The report explained that all existing Council properties were re-let at social housing ‘Target Rent’, which was determined by a nationally set formula, but that Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government guidance enabled local authorities to set rent levels above Target Rent for new build homes developed within the Housing Revenue Account (HRA).  In winter 2018/19 it was expected to let the first of the 57 new build Council homes being developed at Conwy Close; these would be the Council’s first general needs homes to be completed as part of the new build programme and also the first properties with flexibility to set a higher level of rent.  An Adjusted Target Rent was proposed that would reflect the expected rent levels of the existing stock, had the mandatory annual 1% rent decrease for all social housing not been imposed by Government in 2015 for four years.  The proposed rent levels were therefore consistent with what the rent levels would have been for all stock had they been increased in line with the Council’s adopted rent policy and national rent policy prior to 2015.

The report stated that the proposal would increase income to the HRA by £3.7m over the life of the 30 year business plan for Phases 1 and 2 of the new build programme, increasing financial resilience and supporting the delivery of service improvements and further new homes.  It noted that the proposed Adjusted Target Rent was still significantly lower than Local Housing Allowance levels  and the ‘Affordable Rents’ often used by Registered Providers.  The Adjusted Target Rent would be a default but not a blanket policy for all new build schemes, to enable future mixed tenure schemes where letting all properties at the proposed Adjusted Target Rent levels might not be viable.  In addition schemes supported with grant from Homes England, where the grant was awarded on the basis of the properties being let at social rent, would be let on that basis.

Resolved –

That the proposal to charge an ‘Adjusted Target Rent’ as a default rent policy for new permanent social housing developed as part of the Council’s local authority new build housing programme, subject to the exceptions described in the report, be agreed.