LABOUR’S affordable homes target is at risk and council homes face falling into disrepair as many town halls can no longer afford to meet statutory repair obligations, the Local Government Association (LGA) reveals today.

They face an “impossible choice” between their Housing Revenue Accounts (HRA) going into deficit or failing to meet their legal requirements.

This includes the newly proposed Awaab’s Law, which will require landlords to fix reported hazards, such as mould and damp, within specified timescales.

The LGA, which represents local authorities in England and Wales, warns this leaves councils unable to finance the building of new affordable homes to help the government achieve its ambition to build 1.5 million new homes over the next five years.

LGA housing spokesman Councillor Adam Hug said: “This is the most precarious position that council housing has been in for over a decade, and urgent action is needed to ensure that local government can keep up with its obligations around providing decent quality council housing.  

“We need to strengthen and provide stability to HRAs by agreeing a long-term rent settlement, restoring lost revenue due to the rent cap and reviewing the self-financing settlement of 2012.

“This would provide councils certainty on rental income and support long-term business planning to ensure they can deliver high-quality homes and associated support for their tenants.”

The study, conducted by Savills and commissioned by the LGA, the National Federation of Arms-length management organisations (NFA) and the Association of Retained Council Housing (Arch), was published at today’s LGA Annual Conference.

Mike Ainsley, chair of the NFA, which represents council-owned specialist housing organisations in England, said: “This report is solid evidence that our national housing catastrophe cannot be addressed without a strong council housing sector.

“The Savills data paints an unambiguous picture of the dire state this sector is in after years of decline.

“We urgently need a strong financial settlement to restore lost rent revenue and make HRAs viable.

“Only then can we provide the good quality social housing that the country needs.” 

Arch chair Cllr Aydin Dikerdem said: “Councils are, rightly, expected to ensure that all their tenants’ homes meet at least the basic requirements of the Decent Homes Standard, and are being held to account by government and the regulator where they fail to do so.  

“For its part, the government has a reciprocal obligation to make sure councils have the funding necessary to meet these obligations.”

A spokesperson for the London Renters Union said: “Our public housing stock has been eroded by decades of sell-off and managed decline. Ordinary people are paying the price, waiting years for a social home or trapped in dangerous conditions.”

Unison head of local government Mike Short said: “Years of underfunding and massive cuts have left council finances in a perilous state.

Unite national officer for local government Clare Keogh said: "It is imperative that local authority housing is properly funded and that requires direct action by the government.

"Social housing is the cornerstone of a successful society. Such housing must be of a high quality. Constant cutbacks inevitably lead to corners being cut which risks safety, deskills the workers tasked with maintaining it and leads to the deterioration of buildings."

“The government recognises the difficulties local  authorities face and the scale of the task ahead. But finding ways to invest in housing must begin as soon as possible to fix the previous government’s mess and rebuild communities.”

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government was contacted for comment.