Economic constraints force council to consider pushing up rents on new build homes to meet development ambitions

Land is “a big challenge” for building council houses, Mr Brennan said. Most homes in the programme will be built on council-owned brownfield land that requires costly remediation.

Mr Brennan explained that the council was losing 700 council homes a year to Right to Buy. However, the policy is crucial to its development programme, as its new housing schemes are largely funded by Right to Buy receipts, rather than government grants.

“Homes England [funding] can’t compete with Right to Buy receipts,” he added.

The council has also run an ‘off the shelf’ acquisition programme since 2020. This enables it to buy new build properties directly from developers using Rght to Buy receipts.

In November 2021, the council bought around 45 new build properties on a Strata housing development in Seacroft.

In contrast to the affordable rent it will charged for its new-build homes, the council is aiming to let replacement housing built as part of regeneration schemes at social rents.

Replacement homes on the site of the demolished Highways towers “will all be social rented, rather than affordable”, said Jessica Lennox, executive board member for housing. The regeneration will provide 180 units – up from 84 before.

Taking all development, including local housing associations into account, 556 affordable homes were built in Leeds in 2022. This is halfway to the council’s overall affordable homes target of 1,200 a year.

Mr Brennan said Leeds has a “healthy” Section 106 pipeline. All developments in the city centre must contain 7% affordable housing, rising to 15% in the urban area and 35% in the suburbs. Of this affordable housing, 60% must be set at social rent while 40% can be set at higher affordable rents.