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.
