Authorities Use HRA Reforms to Repurchase Homes

Research by Inside Housing into English stock-holding authorities’ use of housing revenue accounts to finance new homes reveals town halls are buying former council homes, sold at a discount, as part of wider plans to boost supply. Matthew Warburton, policy advisor for the Association of Retained Council Housing, said the practice had happened on a ‘fairly low level’ for years but reforms to council housing finance, introduced in April 2012, allowed local authorities the flexibility to do more. ’In the bigger picture, it’s a completely insane use of public money to spend it undoing the consequences of a policy that should have never been allowed to happen in the first place,’ he said. However, he acknowledged buying back homes on existing estates can be cost-effective as maintenance and management arrangements are already in place. Read more on Inside Housing.