Loading
The decisions as the council's minutes record them. A plain-language summary follows once it has been written.
RESOLVED THAT IT BE RECOMMENDED TO THE CABINET/COUNCIL TO: 4.1 To increase average housing rent by 4.3% (£4.67) per dwelling per week as per WG Social Housing Rents Policy. - Properties at target rents will increase by 4.3%, except for 1 bed houses/bungalows and - Properties where rent is below target rent, rent will increase by 4.3% plus a maximum progression of £2.55 - Those rents above target are frozen until such time that they meet the target. - Rents for each category of dwelling are set as detailed in the report 4.2 To increase garage rents by 4.3% from £9.86 to £10.28 and garage bases from £2.28 to £2.38 4.3 Apply the Service Charge Policy to ensure tenants who receive the benefit from specific services pay for those services. 4.4 To increase charges for using our sewerage treatment works in line with rent increase. 4.5 To approve the Housing Revenue Account Budget for 2026/29 (2027/28 & 2028/29 being soft budgets) as set out in Appendix A. 4.6 To approve the proposed Capital Programme and applicable funding for 2026/27 and the indicative spends for 2027/28 to 2028/29 as set out in Appendix B. To note the Affordability Assessment as detailed in Appendix C.
RESOLVED THAT IT BE RECOMMENDED TO THE CABINET/COUNCIL TO: 5.1 Confirm the vision, priorities and areas for improvement of the housing investment programmes over the next three years. 5.2 Agree that the 2026/27 Business Plan can be submitted to Welsh Government. 5.3 Note the commitment to continuing to improve our responsive repair service and setting up a new minor works team. 5.4 Note our plans to bring our responsive repair team and our estate and tenancy Page 41 Agenda Item 5 management team together. 5.5 Note our approach to estate and tenancy management, ensuring that our housing officers are more visible and accessible on our estates, balancing the support required by tenants and the need to take enforcement action when required. 5.6 Note our commitment to working with tenants to help shape our future services and improve tenant satisfaction levels. 5.7 Note our commitment to ensure the highest standard of compliance with legislative, regulatory and local policy requirements. 5.8 Note our commitment to continuing to keep the number of void properties as low as possible. 5.9 Note our priority to increase the supply of affordable homes in all areas of the County, including building large sites exclusively for Council housing, increasing the supply of single person/temporary supported/specialist accommodation and supporting wider regeneration initiatives including Town Centres and Tyisha. 5.10 Note the importance of the investment included in this plan and its role in stimulating the local economy and creating local jobs and training opportunities.
RESOLVED that the Forthcoming Items be approved.
Apologies for absence were received from Councillors W.R.A. Davies and M. Thomas.
There were no declarations of personal interest or of any prohibited party whips.
The Chair confirmed that no public questions had been received.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED THAT IT BE RECOMMENDED TO THE CABINET/COUNCIL TO: 4.1 To increase average housing rent by 4.3% (£4.67) per dwelling per week as per WG Social Housing Rents Policy. - Properties at target rents will increase by 4.3%, except for 1 bed houses/bungalows and - Properties where rent is below target rent, rent will increase by 4.3% plus a maximum progression of £2.55 - Those rents above target are frozen until such time that they meet the target. - Rents for each category of dwelling are set as detailed in the report 4.2 To increase garage rents by 4.3% from £9.86 to £10.28 and garage bases from £2.28 to £2.38 4.3 Apply the Service Charge Policy to ensure tenants who receive the benefit from specific services pay for those services. 4.4 To increase charges for using our sewerage treatment works in line with rent increase. 4.5 To approve the Housing Revenue Account Budget for 2026/29 (2027/28 & 2028/29 being soft budgets) as set out in Appendix A. 4.6 To approve the proposed Capital Programme and applicable funding for 2026/27 and the indicative spends for 2027/28 to 2028/29 as set out in Appendix B. To note the Affordability Assessment as detailed in Appendix C.
The Committee received a report on the proposed 2026/27 Housing Revenue Account (HRA) budget for both revenue and capital. This was prepared in conjunction with officers from the Social Services and Housing Department and will be presented to Cabinet 12th January 2026. The report was presented to the Committee as part of the budget consultation process. The Leader of the Council presented the report and advised that the HRA budget for 2026/27 was being set to reflect the Welsh Government’s New Policy for Social Housing Rents (Rent Policy), instructing that the maximum increases in the rent envelope for any local authority does not exceed 4.3%. This was calculated as the CPI inflation figure of 3.8% plus an additional allowable 0.5%. The Leader also noted that capital investment of £231m had been undertaken to deliver the Welsh Homes Quality Standard by 2015. Since achieving the WHQS, a further £160m had been spent on maintaining the standard and it is expected that continuing to maintain these standards will cost another £70m over the next three years plus £57m for the Affordable Homes programme. The Committee was advised that the rent increases proposed were as follows: - For those properties at target rent the increase would be 4.3% except for 1 bed houses/bungalows which would be frozen. - For those properties where rent is below target rent, the increase would be 4.3% with a maximum of £2.55 progression. - Those rents above target are frozen until such time that they meet the target. The Committee was advised that based on applying the above for 2026/27 at 4.3% rent increase this would produce an average rent of £113.21 (an increase of £4.67). The Committee was also advised of the proposed charges for garage rents, service charges, sewerage charges, and the Housing Revenue Account budget and Capital Programme. An amendment to the report was noted, that the expected pay award for staff had been re-assessed, and was expected to be 3.5% rather than the 4% previously budgeted. This would mean a saving to the Housing Revenue Account of £60k. The Committee had the following questions or comments: - It was noted that while the report was thorough, and the Committee commended officers for this, there were some technical details that were difficult to understand. This was noted by officers for future reports. - In response to a question regarding the rent setting options that had been discussed by the Committee at its previous meeting (minute 7 refers), it was advised that Option 3 had been taken forward, so the revenue lost from 1-bed houses/bungalows would be made up for by the rent rises on other properties. - The Head of Housing advised in response to a question regarding contingencies if income reduces with a change of Welsh Government, that the Council was confident that these grants would be realised. - In response to a question regarding the percentage of void properties, the Committee was advised that there would always be roughly 2% of voids due to turnover of properties, but that it was the decrease in longer-term voids that had brought the overall number down. - The Committee asked about whether the savings made by tenants from investments into insulation and clean energy were tracked and were advised that this was set out in the Housing Investment Programme report. - In response to a question about whether service charges could be added to the rent comparison in the report, the Committee was advised that as this was only applicable to some properties which had work done on them recently, it wouldn’t give an accurate comparison. UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED THAT IT BE RECOMMENDED TO THE CABINET/COUNCIL TO: 4.1 To increase average housing rent by 4.3% (£4.67) per dwelling per week as per WG Social Housing Rents Policy. - Properties at target rents will increase by 4.3%, except for 1 bed houses/bungalows and - Properties where rent is below target rent, rent will increase by 4.3% plus a maximum progression of £2.55 - Those rents above target are frozen until such time that they meet the target. - Rents for each category of dwelling are set as detailed in the report 4.2 To increase garage rents by 4.3% from £9.86 to £10.28 and garage bases from £2.28 to £2.38 4.3 Apply the Service Charge Policy to ensure tenants who receive the benefit from specific services pay for those services. 4.4 To increase charges for using our sewerage treatment works in line with rent increase. 4.5 To approve the Housing Revenue Account Budget for 2026/29 (2027/28 & 2028/29 being soft budgets) as set out in Appendix A. 4.6 To approve the proposed Capital Programme and applicable funding for 2026/27 and the indicative spends for 2027/28 to 2028/29 as set out in Appendix B. To note the Affordability Assessment as detailed in Appendix C.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED THAT IT BE RECOMMENDED TO THE CABINET/COUNCIL TO: 5.1 Confirm the vision, priorities and areas for improvement of the housing investment programmes over the next three years. 5.2 Agree that the 2026/27 Business Plan can be submitted to Welsh Government. 5.3 Note the commitment to continuing to improve our responsive repair service and setting up a new minor works team. 5.4 Note our plans to bring our responsive repair team and our estate and tenancy Page 41 Agenda Item 5 management team together. 5.5 Note our approach to estate and tenancy management, ensuring that our housing officers are more visible and accessible on our estates, balancing the support required by tenants and the need to take enforcement action when required. 5.6 Note our commitment to working with tenants to help shape our future services and improve tenant satisfaction levels. 5.7 Note our commitment to ensure the highest standard of compliance with legislative, regulatory and local policy requirements. 5.8 Note our commitment to continuing to keep the number of void properties as low as possible. 5.9 Note our priority to increase the supply of affordable homes in all areas of the County, including building large sites exclusively for Council housing, increasing the supply of single person/temporary supported/specialist accommodation and supporting wider regeneration initiatives including Town Centres and Tyisha. 5.10 Note the importance of the investment included in this plan and its role in stimulating the local economy and creating local jobs and training opportunities.
The Committee received a report on the Housing Revenue Account Business Plan 2026-29 Carmarthenshire Housing Investment Programme. This report sought to explain the Council’s vision and three-year housing investment programmes to maintain its stock and deliver more affordable homes. The Leader of the Council presented the report and noted that it was produced through extensive research, consultation and information from staff, tenants and other partners. The Committee was advised that despite being the fifth largest county that has housing stock, Carmarthenshire had the third lowest rent levels. The Committee was advised that the report contained information on the restructuring of repairs, investment in a new digital asset management system, a digital stock review, the new compliance team and an investment of over £302m in the revenue and capital budgets across the three years. The Committee had the following questions or comments: - A question was asked regarding the risks set out in the report to the Council’s housing programme and their mitigation. The Head of Housing advised that there was investment going into compliance, that would be monitored monthly to manage these. The big risk noted was that the plan was very ambitious, if things stayed as they were it was achievable, but there were ongoing challenges. - A discussion was had regarding Councillors working with area Housing Officers. The Committee commended the good work of the officers in visiting tenants alongside local members and commented on the need to support those tenants who were vocal about their issues, but also those who were less forthcoming, to make sure that everyone gets the support they need. The Leader of the Council advised that all tenants should have a visit from their Housing Officer at least once a year. The Committee was advised that it would be sent a list of all the Housing Officers for each area. - Reference was made to the Housing Tenants Forum, and the Committee was advised that a few meetings had been held, and it had been a positive start. The Leader of the Council stressed that it was very useful for the members of the forum to bring ideas to improve things that were working well, and fix things that weren’t working. - It was advised in response to a question regarding accessible switches for water stopcocks that Officers would look into the possibility of this being done during scheduled boiler inspections. The new Leader of the Council, who was attending her last meeting of the Committee in her previous capacity as Cabinet Member for Homes, was thanked for her years of work and support to the Committee and thanked the Committee for the difference their scrutiny has made. UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED THAT IT BE RECOMMENDED TO THE CABINET/COUNCIL TO: 5.1 Confirm the vision, priorities and areas for improvement of the housing investment programmes over the next three years. 5.2 Agree that the 2026/27 Business Plan can be submitted to Welsh Government. 5.3 Note the commitment to continuing to improve our responsive repair service and setting up a new minor works team. 5.4 Note our plans to bring our responsive repair team and our estate and tenancy Page 41 Agenda Item 5 management team together. 5.5 Note our approach to estate and tenancy management, ensuring that our housing officers are more visible and accessible on our estates, balancing the support required by tenants and the need to take enforcement action when required. 5.6 Note our commitment to working with tenants to help shape our future services and improve tenant satisfaction levels. 5.7 Note our commitment to ensure the highest standard of compliance with legislative, regulatory and local policy requirements. 5.8 Note our commitment to continuing to keep the number of void properties as low as possible. 5.9 Note our priority to increase the supply of affordable homes in all areas of the County, including building large sites exclusively for Council housing, increasing the supply of single person/temporary supported/specialist accommodation and supporting wider regeneration initiatives including Town Centres and Tyisha. 5.10 Note the importance of the investment included in this plan and its role in stimulating the local economy and creating local jobs and training opportunities.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED that the Forthcoming Items be approved.
The Committee received a list of forthcoming items due to be considered at its next meeting on 21st January 2026. UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the Forthcoming Items be approved.
UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on the 11th November 2025 be signed as a correct record.
Councillors must say when they have a personal link to something being discussed, such as a job, a property or a family member. A prejudicial interest is one strong enough that the councillor usually leaves the room and takes no part.
Declarations are read from the minutes once they are published.
Lists the council's current councillors only. Co-opted members, officers and former councillors aren't shown.