Council housing: a real future

On 21 July 2009 the Department for Communities and Local Government published a consultation document on the Reform of council housing finance. This included an option of dismantling the current Housing Revenue Account subsidy system and replacing it with a devolved system of financing and accountability termed self-financing. Under self-financing council landlords would keep all their rental income and use it to finance their own stock, ending the annual subsidy relationship with the government.

This consultation paper sets out detailed proposals for reforming council housing finance and seeks the views of councils on implementing this new system.

Please note that paragraph 2.47 of the consultation paper has been corrected.