Arguments against transfer - privatisation of council housing

Councils pushing privatisation always try and make out stock transfer is the best thing since sliced bread. They launch an expensive and glossy PR Campaign - usually only promoting one side of the argument and often break what most people would think are basic democratic procedures to try and prevent or make it hard for anyone to put the case against. Don't be bullied and blackmailed. Make sure that there is a full and balanced debate in your area so that tenants hear both sides of the argument.

We've set out the main arguments against stock transfer below and in our briefing. Also check the factsheets/publications on the left and press articles on stock transfer to the right...

The Case against transfer

Transfer Means Privatisation

Registered Social Landlords (RSLs or housing associations) are private companies in law and borrow directly from the private market.

"Walker (2000) characterises housing associations as behaving increasingly like private sector organisations 'property-driven' and managing stock as an asset to maximise returns" Changing Boards: Emerging Tensions, Liz Cairncross, Oxford Brookes University, Spring 2004 (see also DCH summary).

Transfer means privatisation in law and in practice. RSL board members are often paid, executives are on fat-cat salaries, and banks and lenders are in the driving seat.

Many transfer associations set up group structures to get into private housing - market renting, new development and building luxury houses for sale. Transfer gives them all the land our estates are built on - some of it seen as prime development sites.

Transfer plans often include demolition and higher density rebuilding - including new private luxury homes our children won't be able to afford. RSLs may be technically 'Not for Profit' today but they are lobbying for that to change.

"One fifth of transfer RSLs have had to be placed under supervision by the Housing Corporation. 'Such action, which involves the appointment of external experts to the board of the association, is only triggered by poor performance or serious management irregularities" (One in five transfer landlords needs supervision, Guardian, 25 May 2005).

Higher rents and service charges

RSL rents are still much higher than council rents. Councils in England claim that the new government 'rent convergence' formula means that rents will increase by the same amount whether tenants transfer or not. Thanks to new evidence it's now clear the rent convergence formula is worthless.

Service charges are not covered by the formula. The RSL simply has to describe part of the rent as a service charge, known as 'unpooling'. The small print in the offer document shows service charge rates are only guaranteed for a few years, if at all. Some RSLs demand £20 plus a week in service charges on top of rent.

RSLs can raise the rents of any new tenants immediately to the 'target level', creating a two-tier system and an incentive to get existing tenants out.

RSLs can change the valuation method used to calculate the rent. In the words of TPAS: "changing the valuation method and therefore achieving higher 'Target rents' can [drive] a horse and carriage through the rent policy guidance and guarantee as valuation is not a fixed science...

I have spoken with large Housing Associations on this issue and they clearly understand how the Jan 1999 valuation method is the loophole in the government's rent setting policy. It's the great unspoken… They can comply with the Government guidance parameters but also achieve higher rents, sometimes much higher rents." (Email from Tony Bird, TPAS ITA in Brighton, to Anne Kirkham, Department of Communities and Local Government, 09/08/06. See further extracts).

In Scotland and Wales the old 5- year 'rent guarantees' are still used instead of a convergence formula. But these don't work either. In Scotland, rent rises in transfer RSLs are now running higher [4%] than the Scottish average RSL [3.8%]. Scottish Borders had the highest increase - 5.5%, despite a promise of inflation plus 1%. (figures from Communities Scotland)

And what happens at the end of the 5-year rent guarantee? Research in the DCH pamphlet shows that 16 of the 20 fastest increasing housing association rents between 1997 to 2005 were in housing transfer districts. The rents for Ten-Sixty-Six, the transfer RSL in Hastings, rocketed after the end of the five year period, up 10% in one year (between 2003/2004, Housing Corporation figures)

A report from a Basingstoke councillor illustrates many of these issues.

Less Security

On transfer tenants lose our special 'secure' tenancy and get an 'assured' tenancy.

Secure tenants are "protected by arguably the most generous charter of rights available in the residential sector. That security is lost on transfer." (Large Scale Voluntary Transfer: not all honey and roses', Jan Luba QC, (2000) 4 L.& T. Rev. 6)

There are differences in law between the two types of tenancy. A promise by the new landlord not to use certain powers is not the same as the statutory rights 'secure' tenants have in law.

"If the council wants to evict you, they must prove both the ground for possession (e.g. rent arrears, anti-social behaviour) AND that it would be 'reasonable' to evict you…. A RSL can seek to evict you without the court having to consider 'reasonableness' in 8 out of 17 grounds for possession. For example if you are more than 8 weeks in arrears of rent on the day of the court hearing, the court will have to make a possession order even if the arrears are not your fault. (Ground 8)." (Stock Transfer: Essential Reading Before You Choose, Tower Hamlets Law Centre)

Councils claim that the new landlord will write additional rights into the new assured tenancy contract which will make it the equivalent of a secure tenancy. The Law Centre say: "If an RSL wants to ignore the promises they have made in a tenancy agreement, and rely instead on the weaker rights set out in law, they may be able to do so. In a leading court case a judge found that a housing association were entitled to override the promise they had made to always give notice before issuing proceedings, because this was allowed by statute."

Mergers and Takeovers

We're told transfer will be to a locally-based organisation. But this doesn't last long. There is a high risk the new landlord will get into financial trouble and be taken over, or will expand and diversify into a huge business empire. Smaller associations tend to become part of a group structure. Bigger RSLs pay their senior managers more! The last two years have seen over 100 full scale mergers, with nearly 70 more becoming subsidiaries within a larger group. (Inside Housing, 10 Feb 2006)

"There is a merger mania just now that is being fuelled by the Housing Corporation saying future development cash will be concentrated on fewer and fewer associations." (Talks aim to create joint biggest housing association, Derek Joseph, Managing Director, Tribal HCH consultancy Society Guardian, 9 May 2005)

Tenants don't get a vote on takeovers or mergers. And the take-over RSL is under no legal obligation to keep promises made at the time of transfer:

"The mortgagee exclusion clause… means that if the RSL gets into financial difficulties and as a result the funder takes control and transfers to another RSL, the "new" RSL is not bound by any of the promises made to the tenants." (Housing Today, 21 January 2005)

Wasted Money and Broken Promises

According to the National Audit Office, it costs £1300 per home more to improve homes after transfer than it would cost if councils were given the money to do the work themselves. (Improving Social Housing Through Transfer, 2003 and DCH Synopsis of Report)

Councils, as public bodies, are able to borrow money at a lower rate of interest than housing associations. The 'management costs' of housing associations are also higher - in other words they pay fat-cat salaries to senior executives, and spend a fortune on new office buildings and glossy self-promotion. Someone has to pay for this.

The report by the Council Housing Group of MPs details broken promises. If promises are broken, there is little tenants can do, because offer document promises are a contract between the RSL and the council, not with the individual tenant.

Parliament's Public Accounts Committee found only a 3% increase in tenants satisfied with the condition of their home (81% from 78% before transfer) - even after improvements had taken place (but often before rent guarantees ran out). Only 85% of tenants considered that housing services were at least as good as before transfer; while satisfaction with the quality of repairs went down (63% against 68%). (Improving Social Housing Through Transfer, 2003 and DCH Synopsis of Report)

More Homelessness

Stock transfer means more homeless. Where councils have transferred their houses "homeless applicants spend longer in temporary accommodation, have fewer long term housing options and in some cases are unable to access affordable housing at all." Of 75,000 families looking for homes after transfer 43% were told that there was no home available for them. 'Out of stock: Stock transfer, Homelessness and Access to Housing' Shelter, 2001

"Our own investigations into the position of the homeless in stock transfer areas have revealed that many applicants have found it more difficult to access permanent accommodation since the transfer… 20.1% of allocations by large-scale voluntary

transfer housing associations are to homeless families. This compares favourably to housing associations not involved in stock transfer (9.4%), but it is less than the 34% by local authorities." Housing Today, 29 April 2005

Transfer: less power for tenants

Don't be fooled by the idea of 'community ownership'. A 'Community Gateway' or 'Community Mutual' is just an RSL with a fancy wrapper. The key thing about any RSL is the fact that they borrow money from the banks and are accountable to them.

Wild claims are made that making tenants 'shareholders' will empower us but there's no basis for these. Tenant 'shareholders' in a community mutual or gateway organisation won't even have the right to elect the whole board.

As tenants of a local council we elect our landlord. If we don't like the way they run our housing we can vote them out every four years at the ballot box. This direct democratic relationship is lost after transfer, PFI or ALMO.

Promises of tenants on the board is a con. The role of tenant board members is "primarily symbolic, providing a fig leaf to cover the unpalatable fact that the real power lies elsewhere." Cairncross 2004

Tenants on boards are bound by company law and, even if elected, will not be able to represent the tenants who elected them.

'At the time of transfer, tenants are often led to believe that they will have an explicit role in representing the interest of their fellow tenants on the board. This is not compatible with the accepted principle that dictates that as a board member they have to work for the interest of the organisation.' (Housing: Improving services through resident involvement, Audit Commission, June 2004).

It's outrageous that the government is trying to hijack the ideas of the co-operative movement to support privatisation; as a recent report on Community Mutuals in Wales has shown, transfer RSLs and genuine co-operatives have almost nothing in common.

Scotland and Wales

The situation in Scotland and Wales differs slightly in the details, although the broad principles of opposing privatisation and campaigning for direct investment are the same. For more details, ask for a copy of our new Scotland and Wales broadsheets

Additional info is available here: an older version of the 'Case against transfer' article which contains additional useful references; and an article on mergers and takeovers .

Press Articles

No to more council housing stock transfers

Swindon tenants group

19/08/18

Labour plans motion of regret for deregulation

Inside Housing

06/11/17

Councils to lose voting rights (on stock transfer associations)

Inside Housing

18/09/17

Hammersmith stock transfer plan scrapped

Inside Housing

01/03/17

Leaking sewage and rotten floorboards: life on 'flagship' estate

Guardian

06/02/17

Kingston's Community Housing Trust overwhelmingly rejected

Surrey Comet

23/10/15

Cameron ditches Eric Pickles

24dash.com

11/05/15

Tories pledge to extend Right To Buy to housing associations

Inside Housing

14/04/15

Durham negotiates April stock transfer date

Inside Housing

30/03/15

NIHE throws doubt on transfers

Inside Housing

26/02/15

Hammersmith and Fulham stock transfer to be

Inside Housing

26/11/14

Council tenants vote for transfer to ALMO

24dash.com

04/11/14

Salford campaign against transfer begins to grow

Salford Star

16/09/14

Salford tenants could vote on transfer

Inside Housing

15/09/14

Tenants vote for stock transfer of 19000 homes

Inside Housing

04/09/14

Hopkins offers council tenants share of £100 million to transfer homes

24dash.com

14/07/14

Why does Salford labour council support coalition's housing policy?

Wordpress

30/06/14

Councils race to complete transfers

Inside Housing

15/11/13

Stock transfer guidance published

Inside Housing

12/11/13

In defence of the (Northern Ireland) Housing Executive

Housing Rights Service

28/10/13

Social landlord on verge of mass stock transfer

24dash.com

29/08/13

Salford council tenants to be balloted on switch to housing association

24dash.com

03/05/13

Landlords take private rent plunge

Inside Housing

19/04/13

Mccaulsand's vision for housing is privatisation

Newsletter (Belfast)

02/02/13

Tenants write to Shapps to halt takeover

24dash.com

30/07/12

NIHE's 90,000 homes set for five-way split

Inside Housing

29/06/12

West Dunbartonshire scraps transfer plans

Inside Housing

22/06/12

Stock transfers delayed by overdue debt decision

Inside Housing

21/06/12

Council consults tenants over stock transfer

24dash.com

19/06/12

Flintshire tenants reject transfer

Inside Housing

21/03/12

Gwynedd tenants unhappy with refurbishment

BBC North west Wales

20/03/12

London council could treble rents

Inside Housing

19/03/12

Transfer hasn't gone away, you know

24dash.com

17/03/12

Tenants block transfer of 10,980 council homes

Inside Housing

20/02/12

Caerphilly tenants still expect changes

South Wales Argus

20/02/12

The tenants have spoken

Wordpress/tenants have spoken

08/01/12

Swindon council tenants reject transfer

Wordpress/Keep our council homes

03/01/12

Stock transfer vetoed by tenant ballot

Inside Housing

03/01/12

Swindon council tenants vote against transfer

BBC News

03/01/12

Wycombe stock transfer official

24dash.com

15/12/11

Parish council hits out at transfer plan

Swindon Advertiser

06/12/11

Transfer approval legal action threat

Inside Housing

01/12/11

Judicial Review threat over council homes transfer

24dash.com

24/11/11

Tories accused of misusing power in row over housing stock

This is Wiltshire

05/09/11

Tenants can vote down this scheme

Swindon Advertiser

03/09/11

I will fight against any homes transfer

Swindon Advertiser

02/09/11

Back into private hands

Morning Star

08/08/11

New pressure group vows to fight council housing transfer

Swindon Advertiser

02/08/11

Housing assoc transfers stock 8 yrs after it was set up

Inside Housing

29/06/11

NHF slams transparency plans

Inside Housing

27/06/11

Housing association raises £140 million through retail bond

Inside Housing

20/06/11

Transfer of Islington's stock to housing association 'not viable'

Inside Housing

27/05/11

Meeting affordable homes target will cost £14bn

Inside Housing

20/05/11

Housing associations cut development by half

Inside Housing

06/05/11

Labour MPs launch attack on housing associations

Inside Housing

06/05/11

Residents reject stock transfer proposal

Inside Housing

25/04/11

Northern Ireland Executive completes first stock transfer

Inside Housing

25/04/11

Wycombe tainted stock transfer poll

Inside Housing

21/04/11

Islington Council rules out housing association move in review

24 Dash.Com

19/04/11

Wycombe Council transfers stock

Inside Housing

07/04/11

Vale council tenants vote to reject housing transfer proposal

Penarth Times

07/04/11

GHA in last phase of transferring stock

Inside Housing

01/04/11

Associations face losing charity status

Inside Housing

11/03/11

Neath Port Talbot Council transfers homes

Inside Housing

09/03/11

Rochdale to create UKs largest social housing mutual

Inside Housing

25/02/11

Shapps: 150,000 council homes to be brought up to standard

CLG

17/02/11

Dacorum BC confirms homes will not be transferred to housing association

Watford Observer

17/01/11

Lib Dem leader urges council to reconsider stock sell-off amid HRA reform

24 Housing

15/10/10

Tenant Services Authority to be abolished - New powers for tenants to improve social housing

CLG

14/10/10

Study questions housing association role

Inside Housing

04/10/10

Transfer council fails to justify methods

Inside Housing

26/08/10

Highland to Sell Off a Fifth of its Homes

Inside Housing

06/08/10

Campaigners Appeal against Neath Ballot

Inside Housing

06/08/10

Bolton Tenants Vote for Stock Transfer

Inside Housing

02/08/10

Ombudsman sees 43% rise in complaints

Inside Housing

16/07/10

Reset the pain threshold

Inside Housing

09/07/10

Schapps - Speech to the Chartered Institute of Housing Conference

CLG

24/06/10

Bolton wanderer

Inside Housing

14/05/10

Pension fund to invest in housing

Inside Housing

07/05/10

Quarter of ALMOs want to transfer homes

Inside Housing

30/04/10

Midlands association 'letting tenants down'

Inside Housing

30/04/10

Staff picket Notting Hill headquarters

Inside Housing

17/03/10

Tribal: club bonds could soar sky high

Inside Housing

12/03/10

Early exit for NLH chief exec

Inside Housing

12/03/10

ALMO tenants to be balloted on transfer

Inside Housing

08/03/10

Campaigners fight Welsh transfer plans

Inside Housing

08/03/10

Healey writes off Bykers £44m debt

Inside Housing

05/03/10

Associations hit by £315m of cash calls

Inside Housing

26/02/10

North Lincolnshires bullying probe stalls

Inside Housing

26/02/10

No strings attached

Inside Housing

19/02/10

What went wrong?

Inside Housing

12/02/10

Hyde sets its sights on £200m bond deal

Inside Housing

05/02/10

.TVH to merge after being placed in supervision

Inside Housing

03/02/10

Weaver battle looms

Inside Housing

15/01/10

2012 deadline extended

Inside Housing

15/01/10

Compare the landlord

Inside Housing

15/01/10

.A question of capacity

Inside Housing

04/12/09

PfP wins US investment

Inside Housing

27/11/09

New horizons

Inside Housing

27/11/09

Banks ask for more security

Inside Housing

27/11/09

Council offers rent cuts as transfer incentive

Inside Housing

13/11/09

Red tape cut as Marsh opts for local liability

Inside Housing

13/11/09

Court blocks L&Q's public bodies appeal

Inside Housing

13/11/09

Associations could float on stock market to raise cash

Inside Housing

13/11/09

NI associations could take on all social stock

Inside Housing

06/11/09

Belcher quits Anchor Trust

Inside Housing

06/11/09

Welsh stock transfer facing struggle

Inside Housing

26/10/09

Servite completes £60m homes sale

Inside Housing

09/10/09

Top developers pre-tax surpluses slump 45 per cent

Inside Housing

09/10/09

A Place in the Sun [chief exec salaries]

Inside Housing

25/09/09

Is stock transfer dead?

Inside Housing

18/09/09

Belcher salary hits £391,000

Inside Housing

18/09/09

Inquest finds rent rise death was suicide

Inside Housing

20/08/09

Mind the gap

Inside Housing

07/08/09

I.O.U. £18 billion

Inside Housing

24/07/09

Free at last

Inside Housing

22/07/09

Reform of council housing finance: Consultation

CLG

21/07/09

Subsidy changes to end stock transfer

Inside Housing

10/07/09

Reviled council cash system bites the dust

Inside Housing

03/07/09

Review of Council Housing Finance - ministerial statement

DCLG

30/06/09

Build it and they will come

Public Finance

26/06/09

Court rules housing associations are public bodies

Inside Housing

18/06/09

Vote against stock transfer has sent a clear message

Inside Housing

12/06/09

Council warns of cuts after residents block transfer

Inside Housing

10/06/09

Council tenants firmly reject housing transfer

Cambridge City News

06/06/09

Half of associations hit by funding woes

Inside Housing

05/06/09

Revealed: results of TSA tour

Inside Housing

05/06/09

HRA reforms crucial or councils could lose control

Inside Housing

22/05/09

77 associations to write down £125m

Inside Housing

15/05/09

Agency invests £16 million to prop up London schemes

Inside Housing

08/05/09

Plymouth gets rent holiday

Inside Housing

08/05/09

Transfer councils still hiking rents

Inside Housing

08/05/09

Ms Blears thanks for the £3k Bill...

Daily Mirror

25/04/09

'Affordable' homes rent hike angers tenants

Observer

19/04/09

Matchmaker service for troubled landlords

Inside Housing

17/04/09

Review halted over public body ruling

Inside Housing

17/04/09

House chiefs in dock over public meeting

Wales Online

02/04/09

Regulator to study breakdown of GHA repairs deal

Inside Housing

02/04/09

Housing association sector could go into the red

Inside Housing

26/03/09

Property sales crucial for 59 housing associations

Inside Housing

20/03/09

March 31st

Inside Housing

06/03/09

Build plans axed as lenders reprice loans

Inside Housing

06/03/09

Fifty associations hit as land values plunge

Inside Housing

06/03/09

How you've grown

Inside Housing

06/03/09

Housing associations may stop building

Inside Housing

04/03/09

Crisis offers a chance to remake the left

Guardian

04/03/09

L&Q central to Mayor of London's housebuilding plans - full details

24Dash

03/03/09

Merton Council embroiled in housing row

Merton Guardian

26/02/09

Subsidy system a godsend to the BNP

Public Finance

25/02/09

Empty RSL buildings growing in number

Public Finance

25/02/09

Unsold homes scheme should be extended

Public Finance

25/02/09

Unions call for help with housing

BBC

18/02/09

Q&A: Council housing

Times

30/01/09

Marsh warns sector to fear the worst

Inside Housing

30/01/09

Barclays offers hope to associations

Inside Housing

29/01/09

Presentation to merge with Notting Hill

Inside Housing

29/01/09

Less stable housing associations at risk

Financial Times

25/01/09

Lenders put squeeze on social housing

25/01/09

Lenders put squeeze on social housing

Financial Times

25/01/09

Numbers tweaked to access more cash

Inside Housing

23/01/09

Should city build council houses to cut homelessness?

thisisstaffordshire

22/01/09

Associations court danger in bid for cash

Inside Housing

09/01/09

TSA reveals its cash concerns

Inside Housing

09/01/09

Cash-rich landlords agree to bail out peers

Inside Housing

09/01/09

Riding to the rescue

Inside Housing

09/01/09

Watchdog to intervene in L&Q case

Inside Housing

09/01/09

Banks agree to compromise

Inside Housing

19/12/08

Rent challengers forced out

Inside Housing

12/12/08

Cash calls hit social landlords

Inside Housing

12/12/08

Cash calls hit social landlords

Inside Housing

12/12/08

Chief execs pay to be probed by TSA

Inside Housing

12/12/08

Cash calls explained

Inside Housing

12/12/08

Land value shock for large landlords

Inside Housing

12/12/08

Holmes speaks out as corporation closes

Inside Housing

05/12/08

Landlords shy away from rescue deals

Inside Housing

05/12/08

Push for arms-length transfer

Inside Housing

05/12/08

The door to the future

Inside Housing

05/12/08

Zero stars for troubled Island Homes

Inside Housing

05/12/08

Housing association move for ALMOs?

LGC

04/12/08

Oldham ALMO to become association

Inside Housing

27/11/08

Packing a punch

Guardian

26/11/08

Associations warn of catastrophe

Financial Times

18/11/08

Associations struggle with decent homes

Inside Housing

18/11/08

Council mulls move away from ALMO

Inside Housing

14/11/08

Tenant services being taken for granted

Inside Housing

14/11/08

Thousands of new homes stand empty

Inside Housing

14/11/08

Council concerned after landlord accused of breaking promises

Inside Housing

31/10/08

How the mighty have fallen

Inside Housing

31/10/08

Housing Corporation on financial crisis alert

Inside Housing

24/10/08

Housing association pay up 5.4%

24dash

16/10/08

Battered accounts reveal extent of downturn damage

Inside Housing

10/10/08

Calls for curbs on RSL top pay

Public Finance

10/10/08

Review to assess RSL strength and viability

Public Finance

26/09/08

Top housing chiefs earn more than PM

Guardian

24/09/08

Raynsford's warning to HCA

Inside Housing

24/09/08

Expert predicts more 'Ujima-style' failures

Inside Housing

23/09/08

Tax the rich and build a better future for the poor

Guardian

22/09/08

Amid the gloom, salaries soar

Inside Housing

19/09/08

Government 'must step in' to hit deadline for 3m homes

Guardian

19/09/08

Highest paid chiefs pull away from the pack

Inside Housing

19/09/08

Gap between salary and funding rises bleeds providers dry

Inside Housing

19/09/08

Landlord bars tenant for seeking work

Inside Housing

19/09/08

Social housing feels the crunch

Guardian

17/09/08

Mergers and partnerships shake up sector

Guardian

17/09/08

Association chair questions social housing need

Inside Housing

17/09/08

Model is broken say mega-associations

Inside Housing

12/09/08

Everything must go

Inside Housing

22/08/08

Rescue plans go Dutch

Inside Housing

15/08/08

Health check shows shared ownership slide is worsening

Inside Housing

15/08/08

Chief executive pay hits a new high

Inside Housing

08/08/08

Crunch-hit landlords to escape sanctions

Inside Housing

08/08/08

Association lost £28m in two years

Inside Housing

01/08/08

Housing regulator to abandon system for monitoring RSLs

Public Finance

01/08/08

Better housing likely by end of 2010

Public Finance

25/07/08

Paid to find tenants jobs

Inside Housing

25/07/08

New regimes first victim

Inside Housing

18/07/08

Landlords will have to watch their backs

Inside Housing

18/07/08

Watchdog steps in at Presentation

Inside Housing

14/07/08

Danger of the doldrums

Guardian

09/07/08

Flint admits to an unsustainable boom

Guardian

05/07/08

Downgraded landlord plans Merseyside sell-off

Inside Housing

04/07/08

All residents must be governed by the same rules

Inside Housing

04/07/08

Corporation warns landlord over viability

Inside Housing

26/06/08

Boards must regain control

Inside Housing

26/06/08

Landlords teeter on brink of public sector as tenants gain judicial review rights

Inside Housing

26/06/08

Housing association loses 'public body' test case in High Court

24dash

24/06/08

Britain's social housing industry suggests £1bn spree on empty stock

Times

19/06/08

Associations forced to scale back build plans

Inside Housing

13/06/08

Mayer: landlords threatened by market tsunami

Inside Housing

13/06/08

Credit crunch threatens Glasgow stock transfer

Inside Housing

11/06/08

Ratings agency downgrades outlook for Home Group

Inside Housing

06/06/08

Scottish housing grant sparks rent rise fears

Inside Housing

03/06/08

Safety net for repossession victims

Inside Housing

30/05/08

Associations use draconian eviction rules

Inside Housing

30/05/08

PM declares open season

Inside Housing

15/05/08

Market downturn likely to spark fresh mergers

Inside Housing

15/05/08

Critics slam lack of transfer progress

Inside Housing

08/05/08

Sector stunned as housing development values slump

Inside Housing

08/05/08

The Scottish Governments planned new housing association grant system could damage....

Inside Housing

02/05/08

Watchdog withdraws £10m pledge following concerns over landlords financial future

InsideHousing

25/04/08

Watchdog withdraws £10m pledge following concerns over landlord's financial future

Inside Housing

25/04/08

Fast-tracked grant allocations scary

Inside Housing

18/04/08

Housing association loans cause concern

Public Finance

18/04/08

Falling prices threaten up to 10 housing associations

Inside Housing

15/04/08

RSL coffers boosted by £542m of sales

Public Finance

04/04/08

Rebel MPs lose council house vote

BBC

31/03/08

Landlords reject builders cast-offs

Inside Housing

07/03/08

Councils build tiny fraction of new homes

Public Finance

22/02/08

Tenant claims authority reneged on promise to spend stock transfer cash on housing

Inside Housing

22/02/08

Underspend crisis warning

Inside Housing

12/02/08

Housing association boards will come under greater scrutiny from the Housing Corporation....

Inside Housing

08/02/08

Call for security of tenure to be case-by-case

Inside Housing

01/02/08

Demolition threat to ALMO's future

Inside Housing

18/01/08

Local authorities stock transfer publicity to be investigated

Inside Housing

14/01/08

Row over North landlords earnings

Sunday Sun

30/12/07

Lenders fear Oftenant will be too slow off the mark

Inside Housing

14/12/07

The house masters

Guardian

05/12/07

Moving stories

Public Finance

23/11/07

Councils keep tight grip on potential build plots

Inside Housing

22/11/07

Housing and Regeneration Bill sparks fears over strength of new watchdogs powers

Inside Housing

22/11/07

Disreputable transfer laws ready for overhaul

Inside Housing

22/11/07

Unchartered waters

Inside Housing

16/11/07

Power struggle

Inside Housing

16/11/07

Plan to tie budgets to performance in Glasgow

Inside Housing

16/11/07

Value of pathfinder programme unproven

Inside Housing

16/11/07

Leviathan landlords are out of touch

Inside Housing

16/11/07

Sell-offs land biggest associations a tidy profit

Inside Housing

29/10/07

Largest housing associations plan to double their size within five years

Inside Housing

26/10/07

Transfer association in three-way funding talks

Inside Housing

26/10/07

Warnings over a return to failed Tory transfer policy

Inside Housing

25/10/07

New rules cast doubt over transfer of homes

Inside Housing

22/10/07

Out on a limb: why one man regrets getting involved

Guardian

20/10/07

First-time buyers pay over the odds

Guardian

20/10/07

RSL housing staff losing out

Public Finance

19/10/07

Pilot sees developing associations lose automatic right to manage....

Inside Housing

18/10/07

MP plans no confidence vote in Bradford landlord

Inside Housing

11/10/07

Darlings give and take

Inside Housing

11/10/07

Cross-party transfer pressure on GHA

Inside Housing

05/10/07

Union: stock transfer has created two-tier workforce

Inside Housing

05/10/07

Tenants report little change after transferring to RSLs

Public Finance

05/10/07

All in her stride

Inside Housing

05/10/07

Southwark looks at sell-offs to fund decent homes

Inside Housing

04/10/07

Cooper grilled on salaries

Inside Housing

28/09/07

RSLs warned they must stand out from crowd to survive in market

Public Finance

28/09/07

RSLs call for power to raise rents and construct more homes for private sale

Public Finance

28/09/07

No end to salary surge

Inside Housing

21/09/07

Developing associations to turn focus on private sales

Inside Housing

21/09/07

Minister says slow take-up of Homebuy is due to poor PR

Inside Housing

21/09/07

Mind the gap

Inside Housing

21/09/07

Halt to Aberdeen stock transfer makes waves

Inside Housing

21/09/07

GHA labelled a third rate landlord by Communities Scotland probe

Inside Housing

21/09/07

Developing associations to turn focus on private sales

Inside Housing

20/09/07

Quantity placed above affordability

Inside Housing

20/09/07

Mind the gap (chief executives pay)

Inside Housing

20/09/07

Troubled ALMO hands stock to association

Inside Housing

07/09/07

Mergers spark job fears

Inside Housing

31/08/07

Capital markets hit by US sub-prime mortgage crisis

Inside Housing

31/08/07

Capital markets hit by US sub-prime mortgage crisis

Inside Housing

30/08/07

Equity partnership between council and landlord could set a trend

Inside Housing

23/08/07

Abysmal start to build year

Inside Housing

23/08/07

Councillors snub GHAs code of conduct

Inside Housing

10/08/07

ALMO set to be first to transfer to association

Inside Housing

10/08/07

Swords drawn

BBC

08/08/07

Tenants Lobby Camden Over Sell-off Proposals

Inside Housing

03/08/07

Scottish councils housing debt rises above £2.2bn

Public Finance

27/07/07

Council in shock as tenants reject plan to sell-off homes

Tamworth Herald

26/07/07

Green papers £8bn for new build crusade

Inside Housing

26/07/07

Brown fails to banish Blairism from No 10

Guardian

25/07/07

Brown's plans to build three million new homes 'will bankrupt social housing sector in five years'

Independent on Sunday

22/07/07

Transfers attract ALMO interest

Inside Housing

20/07/07

Ad watchdog blasts council over its stock transfer blurb

Inside Housing

19/07/07

Constructive criticism

Guardian

18/07/07

Homes is where the heart is

Guardian

18/07/07

Rural England needs more houses, too

Guardian

18/07/07

Insurer warns over housing association merger risks

Inside Housing

17/07/07

Charity backs PM's housing pledge

BBC

15/07/07

Minister backs Council Housing

BBC

15/07/07

Labour U-turn on council house building

Guardian

14/07/07

Tenants prepare to fight 'crippling' service charges

Inside Housing

13/07/07

Housing associations 'boost new home starts'

24Dash

13/07/07

Housing dominates Brown's agenda

BBC

11/07/07

Why housing has become a political priority

BBC

11/07/07

RSLs face struggle to improve older homes

Public Finance

06/07/07

Local housing groups 'not ready' for GHA stock burden

Inside Housing

06/07/07

Voluntary sector and the dangers of hype

Guardian

20/06/07

The final mile

Inside Housing

15/06/07

Leave our surpluses alone, warn RSLs

Public Finance

15/06/07

Gap funding not to be relied upon as first package is cut

Inside Housing

15/06/07

Stock transfers in Scotland push books into the red

Inside Housing

15/06/07

Stock transfer only option in Wales

Inside Housing

15/06/07

Inflation rises set to push PFI costs up substantially

Inside Housing

15/06/07

Gap funding not to be relied upon as first package is cut

Inside Housing

15/06/07

Private companies up the ante on development cash

Inside Housing

15/06/07

Plea to reform foundering Homebuy

Inside Housing

31/05/07

No vote council chief says future PM must cough up

Inside Housing

31/05/07

Red faces over section 106 wastage

Inside Housing

24/05/07

Double exit at Sanctuary after row over budgets

Inside Housing

24/05/07

Blue-sky housing

Public Finance

18/05/07

Hold your nerve, we are winning the housing fight

Camden New Journal

17/05/07

Associations now reliant on home sales

Inside Housing

10/05/07

Clarke sets out vision for councils to take build lead

Inside Housing

04/05/07

Support grows for push to give tenants a bigger say

Inside Housing

03/05/07

U-turn as Town Hall plans to sell estates

Camden New Journal

03/05/07

RSLs want bigger rent rises

Public Finance

20/04/07

Lenders voice concern as gap funding doubts grow

Inside Housing

12/04/07

Ownership focus ahead of elections

Inside Housing

12/04/07

Top lawyer to represent anti-transfer campaigner

Inside Housing

12/04/07

Pathfinders in value for money probe

Inside Housing

12/04/07

Ownership drive reviewed to death by government

Inside Housing

05/04/07

Corporation puts merged group under supervision

Inside Housing

05/04/07

Transfer associations will need to borrow more as finances are stretched over a decade

Inside Housing

05/04/07

Town hall campaign of intimidation and fraud

Blink

04/04/07

Give us a real choice

Guardian

29/03/07

Tenants gear up for legal fight against transfer

Inside Housing

22/03/07

Council tenants say no to stock transfer

Swansea Evening Post

21/03/07

Ruthless Decisions

Mirror

16/03/07

Stubborn refusals

Inside Housing

09/03/07

Kelly poised to change law

Inside Housing

09/03/07

Mediator brought in to settle Scottish stock quarrel

Inside Housing

02/03/07

Brighton tenants vote against transfer

Public Finance

02/03/07

Respectable rebel

Inside Housing

01/03/07

Disputed transfer still on hold

Inside Housing

28/02/07

Don't patronise us - build us more homes (Letters)

Observer

25/02/07

Judge bans Tower Hamlets from transferring its homes

Inside Housing

23/02/07

Stock transfer defeat rocks Brighton Council

Inside Housing

23/02/07

TENANTS LEFT STRANDED IN POOR HOUSING

Local Government Chronicle

01/01/07

Housing associations given warning on accountability

Inside Housing

22/09/06

'Rent rise scandal in Brighton'

24dash

18/09/06

Tenants plan 'fight to the bitter end' to keep housing under council control

24dash

22/05/06

Galloway accused of 'twisting the truth' about housing associations

24dash

21/11/05

UNISON on the attack after Sefton Council employees sacked

24dash

07/11/05

Consortium's stake in £1.6 billion development could boost borrowing

Inside Housing

26/07/05

One in five transfer landlords needs supervision

Society Guardian

25/05/05

Power to the people? well, not exactly

Housing Today

21/01/05

The ringleader

Inside Housing

13/02/03

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