NHC Autumn Budget Representation sets key priorities for the North
The Northern Housing Consortium submitted a representation to HM Treasury in the run up to the Government’s Autumn Budget, set to take place on 26th November 2025. It focused on how the Government can help the North to deliver its housing ambitions, including 1.5 million new homes and improving the standard and quality of rented housing, including through housing-led regeneration.
Our key points are:
- Rent Convergence – following the government’s commitment to a ten-year rent settlement (CPI+1%), we have reinforced our call for the reintroduction of rent convergence. Our priority is a £2 per week convergence mechanism, maintained throughout the full ten-year policy period.
- Housing-led regeneration – one of our major policy priorities to support the North’s housing sector is housing-led regeneration. We are calling for a dedicated, devolved fund for place-based housing regeneration, targeting areas with poor-quality or ageing stock. This will empower Mayoral Combined Authorities and enable the social housing sector to contribute to the government’s goal of delivering 1.5 million homes and driving economic growth.
- Decent Homes Standard and regulatory reform – we welcome the government’s commitment to improving housing quality, including modernising the Decent Homes Standard and new energy efficiency requirements. However, the proposed changes introduce costly elements that risk creating inefficiencies and a fragmented approach, diverting funds from improving homes to managing disrepair claims. We have urged the government to revise the proposals to ensure they are practical, cost-effective, and focused on delivering genuinely decent homes.
- Fair Funding – the NHC supports simplifying and consolidating grant funding for local authorities and reducing reliance on competitive bidding. We hope the Fair Funding Review will establish a sustainable financial framework for local government, and we stressed the need for increased funding for areas with higher deprivation, many of which are in the North.
- Supported Housing – we have urged government for greater investment to expand supported housing supply with a secure, five-year central funding stream, devolved to Mayoral Combined Authorities.
- Local Housing Allowance (LHA) – we have urged the government to restore LHA rates to at least the 30th percentile from 2026/27 to reflect actual rental costs. The NHC is a signatory to the joint sector letter calling for this change.
Commenting on the representation the NHC’s Chief Executive Tracy Harrison said:
“The NHC supports the government’s ground-breaking investment in social housing, including the £39 billion commitment to the Social and Affordable Homes Programme and the ten-year rent settlement. In our budget representation, we have highlighted ways the Government can make sure the social housing sector in the North is able to deliver more new homes while also continuing to ensure existing residents can live in a warm, safe and affordable home.
“We welcomed the recent consultation on rent convergence and are urging the Government to reintroduce rent convergence from 1st April 2026 at £2 per week for the full ten-year rent policy period. This will strengthen sector finances and enable greater investment in new and existing homes.
“Recent proposals to update the decent homes and energy efficiency standards are welcome. However, we are urging the Government to re-assess and modify the proposed standards through a better understanding of the realities in practice and trade-off with new supply. It is vital to make sure the reforms support providers to invest in homes efficiently, while maximising benefits to tenants.
“We have also highlighted the need to invest in place-based housing regeneration, alongside investment in new homes, to improve areas with poor-quality, ageing homes. Our regeneration inquiry will explore how the social housing sector can benefit communities through regeneration.”
Read our Budget representation here.
