Issue - meetings

Report of the Corporate Director of Finance and Resources (S151 Officer). To be presented Cabinet Member for Housing & Planning (Deputy Leader)

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST MADE FOR THIS ITEM:

None

RESOLVED:

That Cabinet:

1.    Recommended the Housing Revenue Account 2026/27 Budget and 2026/27 to 2030/31 Business Plan for approval by Full Council at its meeting on 2 March 2026.

Reasons for decision

The Council must legally set a balanced HRA budget and have a sustainable HRA Business Plan to ensure that it is able to manage and maintain its homes, provide services to tenants and leaseholders and build much needed new Council homes.

Alternative options considered

Not applicable

The Cabinet Member for Housing and Planning (Deputy Leader) introduced the report.

The Cabinet Member explained that the Council’s mission was to make housing fair. London’s housing pressures had increased rents and reduced standards. The aim was for everyone to live in a home that was affordable, safe, warm and functional.

It was explained that the Council had prioritised social and affordable housing in Haringey, building new council homes at council rents and renovating existing council homes. Since 2020, 1,000 council homes had been built. A further 2,000 were under construction, scheduled for completion by 2031. Work had also begun on affordable homes for key workers. A £600m Estate Renovation Plan was in place to refurbish thousands of homes.

It was explained that this reflected how the council invested its local housing budget (the Housing Revenue Account), focusing on building and maintaining affordable, good?quality homes for local residents.

This included, among other measures:

• Renovated kitchens and bathrooms
• Improved insulation to retain heat and reduce heating costs
• More efficient boilers to lower heating costs
• CCTV, fob access and other safety measures in residential buildings
  
  

The Cabinet Member noted that, like other budgets, the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) had been affected by inflation and high interest rates in recent years. The cost of repairs, renovation and construction had risen significantly.

It was explained that the Council adopted several measures to ensure the budget remained sustainable over the long term, including securing new investment based on its record of delivering new council homes in Haringey. These were outlined in detail in the accompanying report. The priority in each measure was to maximise the number of affordable, high?quality homes available to residents.

Following questions from Councillor Connor, the following information was shared:

• It was explained that the partnering contracts were in place over a period of 10 years and plans to refurbish homes would not be scaled back. It was noted that there was an expectation that there would a reduction in routine repairs following this investment.
  
  
• It was explained that the Council felt savings from housing acquisitions, but that a lot of these savings were seen across the General Fund, particularly in Temporary Accommodation. It was explained that the housing acquisitions would return positively the quickest.
  
  
• It was explained that having a high level of new builds was a benefit to residents as it, amongst other benefits, reduced the number of families in overcrowded situations. However, it was noted that the Council had a number of voids to deal with.

RESOLVED:

That Cabinet:

1.    Recommended the Housing Revenue Account 2026/27 Budget and 2026/27 to 2030/31 Business Plan for approval by Full Council at its meeting on 2 March 2026.

Reasons for decision

The Council must legally set a balanced HRA budget and have a sustainable HRA Business Plan to ensure that it is able to manage and maintain its homes, provide services to tenants and leaseholders and build much needed new Council homes.

Alternative options considered

Not applicable