Housing Revenue Account (HRA) Statistics: Scottish Local Authority Housing Income and Expenditure 1997-98 to 2021-22 (actuals) 2022-23 (estimates)

2. Summary of Findings

Balance of HRA housing income and expendiure:

• Total HRA housing income was £1.24bn in 2021-22, of which £733m was spent on the supervision, management and maintenance of housing and £287m on loan charges.
• This left a surplus of £245m which was transferred to the council's housing capital expenditure account and to invest in new council houses and stock improvements.
• In 2021-22, rent rebate subsidy for council house tenants was £451m or 36% of total income from standard rents.

Scottish council housing stock and rents:

• There were 316,133 council houses in Scotland as at March 2022. This is an increase of 1,934 houses since March 2021. However, the number is forecast to rise to 318,836 (up 2,703) by March 2023.
• Average rent per house was £77.19 per week in 2021-22, up by £1.40 on 2020-21. In 2020-21 average rents ranged from £64.08 per week in Moray to £97.46 in the City of Edinburgh.

Management and maintenance of stock:

• Average expenditure on management and maintenance was £2,277 per house in 2021-22. Within this supervision and management costs were £915 per house, whilst repairs and maintenance costs were £1,362 per house.

Empty properties and rent arrears:

• Councils lost £32m due to all empty properties (void losses) on all properties in 2021-22 or 2.5% of the Standard Rental Income on these properties and below the peak of 3.7% in 2002-03.
• As at March 2022, rent arrears on all council properties was £101m, up £11.7m (13.2%) on last year, representing 7.8% of Standard Rental Income from these properties. These arrears have been rising steadily year on year since March 2013.
• During the same period, the number of council tenants in arrears has increased by 6,846 tenants to 110,347 and the number of former tenants in arrears also increased by 1,490 to 29,854 as at March 2022.

Housing Debt:

• In 2021-22 councils spent £287m on loan charges to the HRA (which includes interest, capital repayment and loan fund expenses). Total estimated council housing debt stood at £4.58bn in 2021-22 an increase of £341m (8.1%) on the previous year. Councils borrow this money to improve and build council houses.