Camden Council is facing significant financial pressures within its Housing Revenue Account (HRA), having lost £201m in potential rental income since 2016. This was revealed in a report discussed at a Housing Scrutiny Committee meeting on Tuesday, 9 December 2025.

The report, which provided an update on the HRA's 2026/27 budget, highlighted that HRAs across the country are struggling to set balanced budgets in the short and medium term. This is due to the many changes made to the self-financing model, which relies primarily on income from rents and service charges, without central government funding even for new burdens.

Social rents, a primary income source for the HRA, are capped by the Rent Standard, set at the Consumer Price Index (CPI) + 1% for 2026/27. The government announced a 10-year rent settlement for social housing from 1 April 2026, permitting annual rent increases of CPI + 1%. Despite this, and in the absence of any external funding, the council anticipates needing to make difficult decisions to address the budget shortfall.

Camden Council is actively engaged with central Government through the Secure the Future of Council Housing Coalition, a group of more than 100 stock-holding councils advocating for funding reform. The coalition is pushing for key changes that go beyond rent convergence to effectively reset the self-financing model, which they argue is no longer fit for purpose.

The report from the Housing Scrutiny Committee stated that the council will need to continue to take difficult decisions. The £201m loss in potential rental income since 2016 is a key factor in the current financial challenge.