Call Made For £100m Housing Debt Write-Off

Calls have been made for the government to write off Swindon Borough Council's £100m housing debt. The authority took on the debt when it was imposed on the authority by the government in 2012 under new rules. But now a tenants' group says it should be written off. The housing debt has meant the authority has been unable to build more council homes. Read more on the Swindon Advertiser website.

https://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/news/18424071.call-made-100m-housing-debt-write-off/

Universal Credit Claimants Make Up 25% Of Council Rent Arrears, Report Finds

Universal Credit households now account for 25% of unpaid council rent despite representing just 4% of tenants, according to a new report. The study, published jointly by the National Federation of ALMOs (NFA) and the Association of Retained Council Housing (ARCH), found 72% of council tenants receiving Universal Credit are in arrears, compared with 26% of all households. And households using the new welfare system had also fallen further behind on rent than others struggling to pay – owing an average of £520 compared to £328 average arrears. Download the report from the NFA website.

http://www.almos.org.uk/include/getDoc.php?did=8190&fid=9679

Government Agrees £65m Debt Write-Off for Council Homes Transfer

The government has today agreed to write off £65.1 million of debt to allow a council to transfer 8,500 homes to its former ALMO. Salford Council hopes to transfer the properties to Salix Homes under new stock transfer rules, published last November, including an offer to cancel historic housing debt. In exchange for the write-off, Salix Homes has committed to invest £75 million to bring all properties up to the government’s decent homes standard by 2020. The deal will be put out to consultation before a tenant vote later this year. To benefit from the debt write-off, the whole process must be completed by March 2015. Read more on Inside Housing.

Concern over HRA U-Turn

CIH has raised concerns over reform of the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) detailed in the Budget. Grainia Long, chief executive of CIH, expressed worries over the government’s plans to re-examine the amount councils are allowed to borrow after April 1 because the impact on public sector debt might be greater than expected.  She said: “Ministers stated during the passage of the Localism Bill that once set these caps wouldn’t be changed. The statement made in the budget may mean this promise is set to be broken and if so will severely disrupt council plans.”  Reform of HRA would, according to the Office of Budget Responsibility, increase public borrowing more than originally estimated.  “These are just estimates but if they do not change then the government has said it will take action to address the increase in public debt. This is very concerning and is a departure from the original commitment.”  Read more on the CIH website.

Government Urged To Intervene Over £18 Billion Council Housing Debt

The Government was urged to step in today to help plug a black hole of billions of pounds in council housing debt built up since the Second World War. About £18 billion is owed in old loans for homes, some of which was spent on properties which have since been demolished, the Local Government Information Unit (LGIU) said. Read the rest of this story on the 24dash website by clicking on the logo below.