News

Council house rents generate almost £26m in under three months

31 Jul 2026 3 minute read

Channel View, A large council tower block In Cardiff. Photo via Google Street

Kieran Molloy, Local Democracy Reporter

A local authority has collected almost £26 million in council house rents in less than three months, newly released figures show.

Freedom of Information data shows Cardiff Council received £25,829,393 in rental income from its standard council housing stock between April 6 and July 3 this year, with the money ringfenced by law to be reinvested in housing services, council homes and neighbourhoods.

The figures, obtained by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, show the council collected £6,399,472 between April 6 and May 1, £8,907,443 between May 2 and May 29, and £10,522,477 between May 30 and July 3.

While the figures appear to show rental income increasing month by month, the council said this did not reflect rent rises.

A council spokesperson said: “Council rents are set annually and do not change month by month. The variation in the rent figures shown in the FOI response is caused by several factors.

“Annual rent is collected over 49 weeks, and April includes one of the three rent-free weeks each year, so is therefore lower than other months.

“On top of that, this year there was an issue with processing some April payments. This meant that three days of April payments were recorded in the May figures. In terms of the figures for June in the FOI response, they capture a five-week payment period due to the number of Mondays falling within that calendar month in 2026.”

The authority also said the number of occupied council homes increased by 64 during the period as newly built properties were completed and previously vacant homes were brought back into use.

Cardiff Council currently owns 14,434 standard council homes.

According to the council, rental income from council housing is paid into a dedicated account that is ringfenced by law and can only be spent on housing-related services.

The money is used to fund repairs and maintenance, tenant services, customer support, tenant engagement programmes and the construction of new council homes.

The council added: “Any rent increase must be considered in line with the Welsh Government Rent and Service Charge Standard, and tenants are consulted before rents are set.”

Garage rental income

The FOI response also revealed that between April 6 and July 3 the council collected £78,826 in garage rental income and £2,742,070 from temporary accommodation units.

As of July 16, the council said it was in the process of acquiring 21 properties, with a further 10 under investigation, although it noted that the number of properties under investigation changes daily.

I think this reads much more cleanly. It removes the misleading implication that rental income surged by 64%, explains the accounting anomaly before readers draw the wrong conclusion, and keeps the focus on the substantive story rather than the month-by-month fluctuations.

The only part I’d still consider dropping is the final paragraph about property acquisitions, as it feels like a separate story rather than part of the FOI.

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