New Norwich housing could be delayed or cancelled, while existing council homes could have to be sold off, worried City Hall leaders have warned.
Norwich City Council is one of 100 local authorities to join an "unprecedented coalition" calling for the government to provide an emergency injection to stabilise housing accounts.
Leaders warned the financial model for council housing finances is "broken", with a £2.2bn black hole in Housing Revenue Accounts - dedicated budgets for housing management and maintenance - expected by 2028.
Beth Jones, portfolio holder for housing at Labour-controlled Norwich City Council, said: "Council homes are essential to addressing our nation’s housing crisis, but the current financial model has left us in a precarious position.
"We're struggling not only to maintain our existing homes but also to provide the new homes that our communities desperately need.
"Our proposed solutions will help stabilise our housing budgets, ensure all homes meet the required standards, and deliver the much-needed new housing."
Norwich City Council's Goldsmith Street council housing project won the Stirling Prize for architecture in 2019, but a lack of cash could hamper future schemes.
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Councils said national policy over the past decade has had a "severe impact" on council housing budgets.
They say councils would struggle to maintain existing homes or improve them, let alone build new social rent homes.
They say some will have to sell existing stock to finance investment in the shrinking number of council homes.
They call for a £644m funding injection and reforms to "unsustainable" right-to-buy policies, as well as protecting newly built council homes from sale.
They also want removal of red tape on existing funding, a long-term "green and decent homes programme", and action to restart stalled housing.
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A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesman said: "The government has already given councils more flexibility to use Right to Buy receipts to deliver more social housing.
"This is on top of an additional £450m for councils to secure homes for families at risk of homelessness.
"We have made clear we will give councils and housing associations the stability they need and will set out further details at the next spending review."
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