Housing Revenue Account (HRA) Reform / HRA Self Financing

Your Rent,Your Home,Your Choice

Important changes to the  way Council Housing is paid for

Big changes to the way in which money for council owned homes is spent are about to take place.  The government want you and your council to have more say in: 

• how your rent money is spent
• what happens to your council housing
• planning your local housing environment
• the services you need and pay for

The government describe these changes as Housing Revenue Account (HRA) Reform, or HRA Self Financing.

How will the new rules affect you?

There are going to be new rules.  The government used to ask councils to pay some of the rent collected each year back into a central pot for use in other parts of the country.  Now, in exchange for paying the government a large one-off sum on 28 March 2012, Enfield Council will be able to keep all the rent money that it collects in the future and use it to improve how your homes are managed and maintained by Enfield Homes. And you will have a bigger say in how this is done.

You will probably agree that this is good news. The new rules are going to be more flexible and fair.

You will gain because over time:

• The council will have more money to spend on managing and maintaining council owned homes.
  
• You will see a clear link between the rent you pay and the services provided.
  
• The council will work with you to plan services based on local need, rather than central government rules.

Planning ahead for managing and maintaining Enfield 's Council homes

Enfield Council must write a 30 year Plan which will set out the long term priorities and ambitions for council homes in the Borough.  This will include plans for investment in houses, flats and estates, and service improvements. The plan will need to be affordable, and this is where there will be choices to make.  We will need to be able to pay for the housing stock and services that you and we want and balance this by setting your rent at a level that you and we can afford.  That is why we want you to have your say.

When will the changes take effect?

The government is in the process of changing the law to end the current rules and put new ones in its place. 

Changes will start to take effect from April 2012.

We want your views

Please complete the questionnaire.

The questionnaire should only take five minutes to complete and will help us take your views into account.

Please contact the Project Manager, Helen Waring by email at: helen.waring@enfield.gov.uk for more information.

For further information

For more information please click on the links below.

Please click here to visit the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) webpage

If there is anything else that you would like to ask or comment on regarding HRA Reform, please contact the Project Manager, Helen Waring by email at: helen.waring@enfield.gov.uk.