Councils to Keep Rent Receipts as Shapps Scraps HRA

Council house rents in England should be kept by local authorities and not gathered up by Whitehall, Housing Minister Grant Shapps has said.  Under new Government proposals, councils will keep all the rents and sales receipts they collect. But in return for this "greater freedom", some councils will take on additional housing debt.  Currently, the Housing Revenue Account subsidy system requires councils to pay council house rents and the majority of receipts from any land or home sales to Whitehall. Ministers then decide how best to redistribute the money back to councils.  Mr Shapps said: "The HRA subsidy is in urgent need of reform. That's why I can confirm that we intend to scrap the current system, and instead replace it with something more transparent that will serve the needs of local communities without interference from Whitehall.  Subject to the Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR), we will offer councils the opportunity to keep the rents they collect and the receipts from any house or land sales.”  Details of the new system will be announced as part of the CSR on October 20.  Read more on 24dash.