24 October 2003
The government has announced new measures to encourage councils to transfer their homes to a housing association.
The proposals, in the consultation paper Housing transfer: Removing barriers in the transfer process, published on October 20, are aimed at removing uncertainty over the transfer process and encouraging new ways of raising finance.
In future, councils will be guaranteed a place on the transfer programme providing they meet certain criteria.
The Housing Corporation will be told to offer stronger funding advice to landlords who take over council homes, while landlords will be required to work more closely with tenants over business plans.
Councils seeking to transfer houses will be offered incentives to team up with existing housing associations.
More than 780,000 homes have been transferred to RSLs since 1988, raising more than £12bn in private finance. However, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has struggled to meet a target set three years ago of transferring 200,000 homes a year.
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