Housing Revenue Account Statistics - Council Housing Income and Expenditure 2025-26 (Near Actuals) and 2026-27 (Estimates)
These statistics set out local authority annual income and expenditure on their council housing by type and amount (£). They are presented at Scotland level and by local authority and time series are shown for some tables. There are also tables on council tenant participation.
3. Key Findings
Council housing income and expenditure - total HRA housing income was £1.629bn
2025-26, of which £968m was spent on the supervision, management and maintenance of housing and £439m on loan charges. This left a surplus of £171m which was transferred to the council’s housing capital expenditure account to invest in new council houses and stock improvements.
Council housing stock and rents - there were 321,462 council houses in Scotland as at March 2026. This is a decrease of 1,653 houses since March 2025. Most of this decrease was reported by the City of Edinburgh council where stock was moved from the HRA to the General Fund (for a full explanation, please see note 28 in the Excel tables accompanying this publication). Average rent per house was £92.57 per week in 2025-26, up by £6.25 on 2024-25.
Management and maintenance of stock - average expenditure on management/ maintenance was £2,972 per house in 2025-26. Average supervision/ management costs were £1,151 per house. Average repairs/ maintenance costs was £1,821 per house.
Empty properties and rent arrears - councils lost £38m due to all empty properties in 2025-26 or 2.4% of rental income on these properties. Rent arrears on all council properties was £117m, up £4.9m (4.4%) on last year, representing 7.3% of rental income on these properties.
Housing debt - in 2025-26 councils spent £439m on loan charges to the HRA (interest, capital repayment and loan fund expenses). Total estimated council housing debt stood at £6.8bn in 2025-26, an increase of £957m (16.5%) on last year. Councils borrow money to build new properties and improve existing stock.
Tenant participation - in 2025-26 twenty-three councils had undertaken tenant consultation about the HRA. Rent setting was the most common topic. Consultation methods included using a diverse range of methods including tenant consultation, newsletters and meetings.
Gypsy/ Travellers - eight councils reported HRA income and expenditure on Gypsy/ Traveller accommodation. This includes rental income of £788K, supervision and management expenditure of £449K, repairs and maintenance of £365K and rent arrears of £162K.
Contact
Email: chma@gov.scot