05 December 2003
Tenants in north London have rejected plans to transfer their homes to a landlord owned by the troubled housing association Places for People.
In a ballot organised by the London Borough of Islington, the proposal was turned down by 648 votes to 439, as tenants elsewhere in the borough voted in favour of creating an arm's-length management organisation for their properties.
Just over 1,500 homes on the Tollington estate were to be transferred to North British Housing, a subsidiary of Places for People, which last month was placed under supervision by the Housing Corporation following rows among governors.
The negative vote means Tollington will now be incorporated in the Almo, which was originally to include 30,500 homes. But the solution is bound to create problems for Islington, which had intended to apply for £156m for homes covered by the new Almo.
Places for People said it was impossible to tell whether the publicity surrounding its governance problems had affected the ballot. 'We are disappointed by the result but respect the decision of tenants,' said a spokesman.
PfP, the largest registered social landlord in England, has meanwhile been told by the Housing Corporation that it will not be accepted as a preferred developer until it comes out of supervision.
Early next year, the corporation is due to announce a list of RSLs that will build most new social housing for the next two years. Associations excluded from the fast-track approach will be forced to bid for smaller grants in the traditional way.
PfP said it would still submit 44 bids to build 702 new homes.
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