But 99% say they are likely to raise rents in 2026/27
Councils have reported improvement across all areas relating to social housing finance for 2026/27 in the latest survey conducted by the Local Government Association (LGA).
The survey, which was sent to all chief financial officers of English LGA members, found the number of councils who said they would need to draw on reserves in order to balance their housing revenue account (HRA) budgets fell to 46% from 72% last year.
Meanwhile, 71% of the 154 respondents said they were confident in balancing their HRA budgets compared to 61% in 2025/26 and 61% reported optimism in being able to maintain and repair existing housing stock, up from 52% in the previous survey.
However, 99% of participants said they are likely or very likely to raise rents within allowable limits.
Tom Hunt, chair of the LGA’s inclusive growth committee, said: “New measures like a 10-year rent settlement and rent convergence, that councils have long called for, are important steps forward but local government still faces significant challenges.”
He described the fact that 44% of councils report they are likely to reduce the revenue costs of their current HRA capital programme for new-builds as “concerning”, despite this representing a drop from 60% in 2025/26.
He added: “For the government to meet its ambition of 1.5 million homes, sufficient social housing supply is a key part of building the homes that our communities need. Supporting councils with the resources that they need to build, both financial and non-financial, will be crucial.”
The survey asked councils how likely they would be to take certain actions, such as raising rents or reducing spending on supervision and management, in order to balance their HRA budgets for the 2026/27 financial year.
It also asked them how likely they are to achieve expectations such as mainting HRA reserves at a “prudent level” or investing in existing stock to ensure it meets necessary standards.
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