Councils have objected to the rent figures used in the final calculations for the payments they will have to make or receive as part of the move to self financing. The government issued a final list of the payments councils must make to end the housing revenue account subsidy system yesterday. But in an accompanying summary of responses to the HRA consultation it emerged the majority complained about the way the sums were calculated. Councils are concerned about the high rent rises due in 2012/13, which are running at about 8 per cent due to a high inflation figure in September. Many called for the government to diverge from its rent setting formula to allow them to impose lower rises, but officials rejected their pleas. The rent figures are built into the complex calculations that determine how much of around £29 billion of housing debt each local authority must take on to move to self financing. Most respondents to the consultation said they would have to impose the full rent rise to get the funding needed for HRA reform. Read more on Inside Housing.
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