England's 160-plus local authority landlords have not exactly been short of challenges in recent years: the 1% annual rent reduction from 2016-2020, coupled with the struggle to grow new housing delivery capacity from a standing start, has caused many council leaders to revise their plans.

Despite this, Savills' annual analysis of Housing Revenue Accounts (HRAs) shows that English councils have been starting to invest – borrowing having risen each year since 2019 to £27 billion in 2022.