Social Rent Cut Set To Take £2.6bn from Councils

George Osborne’s decision to cut social housing rents by 1% in each of the next four years will cost local authorities a total of £2.6bn in lost revenue, a study by the Local Government Association has found. The LGA found the measure would initially cost councils £234m in year one through lower rents in council homes. The amount lost would rise to £508m in the second year, then to £795m in year three, and more than £1bn by 2019/20. The total £2.6bn lost will represent 60% of local government’s total housing maintenance budget, and is the equivalent of funding to build almost 19,000 new homes. Read more on the Public Finance website.