Cabinet, at its meeting on 22 January 2025, will consider a report from the Head of Financial Services presenting the outcome of Oxford City Council’s annual rent review and associated rent setting proposal for 2025/26 in respect of all council dwellings within the Housing Revenue Account, including the setting of associated services and facilities charges.

Cllr Ed Turner, Deputy Leader (Statutory) and Cabinet Member for Finance and Asset Management, Cllr Linda Smith, Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities, Nigel Kennedy, Head of Financial Services, Nerys Parry, Head of Housing Services and Jason Jones, Finance Business Partner (HRA) have been invited to present the report and answer questions.

The Committee is asked to consider the report and agree any recommendations.

The Chair noted apologies from Councillor Turner, Cabinet Member for Finance and Asset Management.   

Councillor Linda Smith, Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities, Jason Jones, Finance Business Partner (HRA), and Nerys Parry, Head of Housing Services, were present to answer questions on the report. 

Councillor Smith presented the report to the Committee which recommends a 2.7% increase in rent and service charges in the next year. She explained that this is the maximum increase permitted and that the HRA is under pressure from requirements to maximise income to support funding ambitions, construct new Council housing, and to retrofit existing housing stock. The Committee heard that the new rates provide value for money and amount to an average rent of £133.68 per week which will support the housing crisis.  

The Chair thanked Councillor Smith and invited officers to comment.  

The Chair invited the Committee to raise questions on matters within the report.  

Councillor Ottino sought clarification of how a garage within curtilage is defined and requested explanation of why garage rent is subject to higher increases when there are many empty garages across the city. It was queried whether alternative options of renting garages at lower rates could be considered. The Chair echoed this question and queried whether there are any restrictions on increasing garage rental charges. She also queried why, in the table in appendix 1, Summertown is excluded. 

Councillor Smith acknowledged Councillor Ottino’s comments and recognised that there could be potential for more dynamic pricing for garages across the city but explained that the matter is not of relevance to the report being presented which only refers to garages connected to council homes, not standalone garages. It was explained that garages connected to council homes will be subject to a larger percentage increase in rental charges, amounting to around £20 per week.  

The Finance Business Partner (HRA) stated that the 4.1% increase on garage rent is part of fees and charges and explained that no legislation exists which caps this. As such, the rental charge would be increasing in accordance with the rest of garage stock. In reference to the Chair’s query on Summertown’s exclusion from the report, the Finance Business Partner (HRA) concluded that the table refers only to socially rented houses, not shared ownership properties and therefore noted that there must be none in Summertown. The Chair noted concern with the accuracy of this.  

 In reference to curtilage, Councillor Ottino observed that the total rent on a property with an attached garage would increase more without the choice of the tenant. He queried whether tenants could opt out of having the garage as this would be an unfair imposition. Additionally, in reference to information in section 22, Councillor Ottino asked why rent charges on standing garages are increasing more than inflation.  

The Finance Business Partner (HRA) explained that garages within the boundary of a home are for the sole use of the tenant, and this is generally viewed positively. This would be a hard condition to remove and therefore sets the base of how the rental charge is decided. It was also clarified that the increase of 4.1% applies to all garages.  

Councillor Ottino commented negatively that the percentage increase in rental charges will be greater for those with attached garages than for those without. He queried why there is not a standard increase and sought an understanding of why this decision was made. The Finance Business Partner (HRA) was unaware of the reason for the decision but reiterated that it supports consistency. Councillor Smith echoed this and explained a preference not to deviate from this within the HRA and general fund. 

The Chair invited the Committee to consider recommendations.  

Councillor Mundy expressed a wish for influences on the private rented sector to be monitored and reported on. The Head of Housing Services advised that this would be challenging due to difficulties with disaggregated data due to various influences. Councillor Ottino also recognised the challenges of this and noted there would be nothing to compare against.  

The Chair invited the Committee to consider recommendations. 

The Committee resolved to make the following recommendation(s) on the report to Cabinet:  

1)    That Officers include a modelling of the impact of limiting garage charge increases to CPI + 1% in the final report presented to Cabinet. 

2)    That the report, and any future iterations, includes a section reflecting on trends in the private rental market, with any relevant anticipated changes for the year ahead. 

The Chair thanked officers and the Cabinet Member.  

Councillor Smith, The Finance Business Partner (HRA) and the Head of Housing Services left the meeting.