The rent you pay as our tenant is used to fund repairs and improvements to your home, as well as to provide new homes. We are committed to delivering value for money and providing high-quality homes for our tenants, and creating spaces where people are proud to live.
Housing rent can only be used to pay for housing; we cannot use it to pay for our other services. Every penny you pay is reinvested in housing. This budget is called the Housing Revenue Account (HRA).
We are facing significant financial challenges. These include increasing costs associated with construction and repair and rent caps and cuts which resulted in a loss of income of £28.3 million between 2016 and 2024.
By law, we have a responsibility to ensure that the HRA does not fall into a deficit, and so for our upcoming budget we have several proposals to reduce spending to stay within our budget.
We will continue to invest in building new homes, but this will be less than previous years thereby to maintain the level of investment in the quality and safety of your home. We forecast 151 new homes in 2024/25, which includes 88 independent living apartments for people over 55 years of age. From next year, we will reduce the number of homes we build to around 35 homes a year to reduce borrowing and avoid high interest rates, as well as to maintain the level investment in improvements.
We also plan to reduce our operating costs over the next 4 years, including a reduction in staffing of around 9% (the equivalent of around 20 full time members of staff), which will result in an all-round reduction in service. We may be slower to respond to non-urgent enquiries.
Given the loss of rental income over several years due to rent caps and cuts, we are also proposing that we increase rent by 2.7%, which is in line with the Regulator of Social Housing’s Rent Standard. This will mean an increase of £3.35 per week for social rent and a £5.91 increase per week for affordable rent.
We know putting rent up and reducing our offer to tenants is not ideal, but these measures are necessary to ensure we protect the HRA budget and continue to maintain safe, quality homes in the long term. In the coming year, we plan to spend money on making improvements to our estates and their green spaces, roof replacements, new windows, kitchens and bathrooms, and asbestos management to ensure that your homes are safe, comfortable and in good condition.
It’s important you complete the HRA survey and tell us which parts of the service we provide are most important, and where we could reduce costs. We want to hear your views on these proposals and your ideas about what our housing team should focus on and how we can improve the service.
Please complete the survey to submit your feedback by Tuesday 4 February 2025.
Come and talk to us about the HRA
We're running a number of events that outline past, current and future spend and give you a chance to ask questions and share your views. Join us and find out more at one of the following events:
- Friday 6 December, at Bedford Street, Leighton Buzzard from 10am until midday
- Saturday 7 December at All Saints View, Houghton Regis from 11am until 1pm
- Wednesday 11 December at Crescent Court, Toddington from 10am until midday
- Wednesday 18 December at The Birches, Shefford from 11am until midday
We are also hosting four online events:
- Tuesday 17 December from 6pm to 7pm
- Thursday 23 January from 6pm to 7pm
- Saturday 25 January from 10am to 11am
- Wednesday 29 January from 6pm to 7pm
To find out how to join one of the online events, email: tenant.involvement@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk.