Warm and safe council homes at the heart of housing budget proposal

Increasing the number of council homes and making sure tenants have somewhere warm and safe to live is at the heart of Canterbury City Council’s proposals for its Housing Revenue Account (HRA) budget in the coming financial year. 

The council’s Cabinet is being asked for permission to consult on changes to the HRA – the account ringfenced for income and expenditure relating to social housing – at its meeting on Monday 3 November. 

Proposals for the council’s HRA capital budget – the money used for long-term investment in its social housing assets – include: 

• £5 million put aside to build or buy new council homes 
• an extra £1 million to ensure council homes are brought up to the government’s Decent Homes Standard 
• an extra £500,000 directed towards adapting the homes of disabled tenants to make their lives easier 

When it comes to day-to-day running costs, the draft HRA revenue budget suggests money should be directed towards: 

• more staff to act on the recent recommendations from the Regulator of Social Housing following its recent inspection. You can read more here. 
• extra staff to help the council tackle problems with damp and mould as quickly as possible after they are reported following the introduction of Awaab’s Law which comes into effect next week 
• inflation-busting increases in the amount of money the council gives to the Canterbury Housing Advice Centre and Canterbury Citizens Advice to support their vital work 

Director of People Marie Royle said: “These budget proposals are about us investing in improving the day-to-day lives of our tenants. 

“If implemented, they would also build on the work we have underway to address our concerns, and those of the regulator, about aspects of the service we deliver. 

“The whole council cares about the homes we provide and the people who need them.” 

Rents increases are set by the government and are set to rise by inflation plus one per cent. 

Inflation, the rate at which the price of an imaginary basket of goods like milk and services like mobile phone bills are increasing, in this case is based on the Consumer Prices Index figure for September published by the Office of National Statistics. That figure is 3.8%. 

It is proposed that service charges for things like gas, electricity and water will increase by inflation or by the extra amount they are costing to provide.  

You can read the full report to Cabinet here. 

The Cabinet will meet at 7pm on Monday 3 November at the Guildhall, St Peter’s Place, Canterbury. 

Published: 24 October 2025