The NFA and CWAG have submitted a joint response to the Government’s consultation on convergence. In our response, we propose that there should be a policy for rent convergence of a maximum of £2/week from April 2026 for the life of the rent settlement (10 years). Generally, members felt that this strikes the right balance between affordability for tenants and the welfare budget, and the speed with which parity between rents is achieved. We recognise in our response that Housing Revenue Accounts will continue to be under significant pressure even with rent increases of CPI +1% and rent convergence, and in order for government to achieve its twin aims of decency in existing homes and a general of new council housing, we called for additional grant funding to plug the gaps.

Our response to the consultation was supported by analysis from Savills that looks at the impact of convergence on the national Housing Revenue Account position.