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Review of Rents and Charges
a) Approve
that council dwellings rents for all social rented
properties be reduced by 1%, in line with legislative requirements,
introduced as part of the Welfare Reform and Work Act, with effect from 2nd
April 2018. This equates to an average rent reduction at the time of writing
this report of £1.00 per week on a 52 week basis.
b) Approve
that affordable rents are reviewed in line with rent legislation, to ensure
that the rents charged are no more than 80% of market rent, with this figure
then reduced by the 1% per annum, as with social housing. Local policy is to
cap affordable rents at the Local Housing Allowance level, which will result
in rent variations in line with any changes notified to the authority in this
level.
c) Approve
that rents for shared ownership are reviewed and amended from April 2018, in
line with the specific requirements within the lease for each property.
d) Approve
new garage and parking space charges for 2018/19, in line with the report
presented to Housing Scrutiny Committee as part of this committee cycle, as
summarised in Section 3 of the HRA Budget Setting Report
e) Approve
the proposed service charges for Housing Revenue Account services and
facilities, as shown in Appendix B of the HRA Budget Setting Report.
f) Approve
the proposed leasehold administration charges for 2018/19, as detailed in
Appendix B of the HRA Budget Setting Report.
g) Approve
that caretaking, building cleaning, estate services, grounds maintenance,
temporary housing premises and utilities, sheltered scheme premises and
utilities, digital television aerial, flat cleaning and catering charges
continue to be recovered at full cost, as detailed in Appendix B of the HRA
Budget Setting Report, recognising that local authorities should endeavour to
limit increases to inflation as measured by CPI at September 2017 (3%) plus
1%, wherever possible.
h) Approve
that service charges for gas maintenance, door entry systems, lifts and
electrical and mechanical maintenance are increased in an attempt recover
full estimated costs, as detailed in Appendix B of the HRA Budget Setting
Report, recognising that local authorities should endeavour to limit
increases to inflation as measured by CPI at September 2017 (3%) plus 1%,
equivalent to an increase of 4% in total, wherever possible.
Revenue – HRA
Revised Budget
2017/18:
i) Approve
with any amendments, the Revised Budget identified in Section 4 of the HRA
Budget Setting Report, which reflects a net reduction in the use of HRA
reserves for 2017/18 of £52,810.
Budget 2018/19:
j) Approve
with any amendments, any Non-Cash Limit items identified in Section 4 of the
HRA Budget Setting Report or shown in Appendix D (1) of the HRA Budget
Setting Report.
k) Approve
with any amendments, any Savings, Increased Income, Unavoidable Revenue
Pressures and Reduced Income proposals, as shown in Appendix D (1) of the HRA
Budget Setting Report.
l) Approve
the resulting Housing Revenue Account revenue budget as summarised in the
Housing Revenue Account Summary Forecast 2017/18 to 2022/23 shown in Appendix
J of the HRA Budget Setting Report.
Under Part 2 of the agenda: Recommend to
Council
Treasury Management
m) Recognise
the decision taken in 2017/18 to defer the review of the current approach to
treasury management, which requires 25% of the value of the housing debt to
be set-aside by the point at which the loan portfolio matures until after it
is clear whether or not the policy to introduce a levy in respect of the sale
of higher value voids will be implemented.
Housing Capital
n) Approval
of capital bids, shown in Appendix D (2) of the HRA Budget Setting Report, to
include the replacement of the estate service champion vehicle, recognition
of increased costs for the replacement of the housing management information
system and the refurbishment / reconfiguration works at Ditchburn
Place, and to recognise additional investment in Disabled Facilities Grants
in line with anticipated grant awarded through the Better Care Fund via the
County Council.
o) Approval
of the latest Decent Homes Programme, to include updated allocation and
timing of decent homes expenditure for new build dwellings, as detailed in
Appendix E of the HRA Budget Setting Report.
p) Approval
of the latest budget sums, profiling and associated financing for new build
schemes including the scheme approved at Mill Road by Strategy &
Resources, based upon the latest cost information from the Cambridge
Investment Partnership (CIP) or direct procurements, as detailed in Appendices
E and H, and summarised in Appendix K, of the HRA Budget Setting Report
q) Incorporation
into the Housing Capital Investment Plan, a Section 106 affordable housing
contribution of £1,750,000, to be used as funding towards the delivery of
affordable housing within the city, by the HRA.
r) Approval
to earmark additional resource of £2,151,000 towards the cost of a denser
re-development at Akeman Street, in advance of the revised scheme being
presented to Housing Scrutiny Committee in March 2018 for formal decision.
This will allow the scheme to proceed should the CIP tendered cost fall
within the approved cost envelope or allowable contract parameters.
s) Approval
of the revised Housing Capital Investment Plan as shown in Appendix K of the
HRA Budget Setting Report.
General
t) Approval
of delegation to the Head of Finance, as Section 151 Officer,
to approve an in year increase in the budget for disabled facilities
grants, in direct relation to any increase in the capital grant funding for
this purpose, as received from the County Council through the Better Care
Fund.
u) Approval of delegation to the Strategic Director to review and amend
the level of fees charged by the Shared Home Improvement Agency for disabled
facilities grants and repair assistance grants, in line with any decisions s
made by the Shared Home Improvement Agency Board.
v)
Approval of delegation to the Strategic Director, in consultation with
the Head of Finance, as Section 151 Officer, to draw down resource from the
ear-marked reserve for potential debt redemption or re-investment, for the
purpose of open market property acquisition or new build housing development,
should the need arise, in order to meet quarterly deadlines for the use of
retained right to buy receipts.
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