District Councils Building Homes At ‘Considerable’ Pace

More homes are being built and planned for by more district councils in more places as a result of the lifting of the Housing Revenue Account cap, a new report reveals. And additional freedoms for non-stock holding councils could accelerate plans still further, the District Council’s Network (DCN) says. A DCN survey was commissioned to show that building plans are already advancing for a third of stock holding districts. The survey shows no councils are standing still, as the remaining two-thirds embark on plans to increase the supply of new homes, but that they need more powers and resources to effectively manage local housing markets. Read more on 24housing.

https://www.24housing.co.uk/news/district-councils-building-homes-at-considerable-pace/

District Councils 'To Lose £75m' With New Homes Bonus Reforms

The planned introduction of a housing growth baseline for the New Homes Bonus has been slammed by councils that believe they could lose £75m. The changes to the payments, which give financial rewards to councils for new housing developments, were proposed by ministers in December and include the introduction of a 0.4% housing growth “baseline”, below which no bonus is awarded. The network, which represents all 201 English district councils, estimates that alongside the impact of the New Homes Bonus loss, districts’ spending power is to reduce by 5.2% between 2016/17 and 2017/18, which compares with the average reduction of 1.1% across wider local government. Read more on Inside Housing.

District Councils Warn Of £718m Rent Cut Hit

District councils have warned the social housing rent cut will lead to a loss of £718.6m in rental income over four years, prompting them to slash spending on new housing. The District Councils Network (DCN), which represents 200 councils, surveyed 33 stock-holding district councils and 19 non-stock holding districts on the impact of the four-year 1% reduction in social rents. It extrapolated the findings to all of its members and estimated district councils will lose £718.6m over four years and £11.3bn over 30 years. To cover the income shortfall, DCN predicts councils will slash spending on building new homes by £210.8m, capital improvements by £167.6m, housing management by £25.1m and debt refinancing by £24.9m. The councils have yet to identify £266.3m of necessary spending reductions. Read more on the DCN website.