HARLOW Council has approved its housing budget for 2025 to 2026 which will see over £136.6 million invested to transform council housing.

The budget, approved on Thursday night (27 February), represents a doubling of the council’s spending on housing from what it was in 2019 to 2020 when it was £64.7 million. 

While overall investment to transform council housing is increasing by 23%, housing rents will only increase by 2.7%. This means the average rent will increase from £112.20 to £115.23 a week. The council’s rent level remains one of the lowest when compared to similar councils.

The budget, which funds services to 9,000 council tenanted homes including supported housing schemes, will see no service reductions or job losses, but increased investment. 

Harlow Council has one of the largest numbers of council housing in Essex.

From 1 April 2025 this extra investment means that the council can:

• Upgrade and refurbish many more council homes.
• Improve its repairs and maintenance service to ensure repairs are carried out more quickly and to a better standard.
• Roll out the tenancy audit programme to inspect every council home every year and ensure it is providing its tenants with the right support.
• Fully meet every commitment made to the Social Housing Regulator.
• Accelerate the 100% internal and external specialist stock condition survey of every home to improve maintenance and better plan investment. 
• Reduce the turnaround time on empty council homes.
• Create over 1,500 new residential parking spaces in our neighbourhoods. This an extra 1,000 on top of 500 already created in the last year.
• Implement the overhauled housing allocations system to ensure that local homes are for local families.

The council will also improve the services funded by tenants and leaseholders from service charges. 

Councillor David Carter, Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Housing, said: “We’re on a mission to transform Harlow’s housing. That’s why our budget this year increases our overall investment into council housing services to £136.6 million in 2025/26 from £111 million in 2024/25. That is a 23% increase in our budget, whilst protecting our tenants with just a 2.7% rent increase.

“This huge investment means we can concentrate on putting right the things that matter to our tenants and making our homes better places to live in. There will be more money for repairing and maintaining homes, more money for improving homes and more money for improving housing services.”