03 September 2004
The Housing Corporation is surveying developers to assess how many are likely to apply for grants to build social housing.
From next April, grants will be offered to private builders and council-owned arm's-length management organisations as well as to registered social landlords.
The corporation has asked management consultancy PricewaterhouseCoopers to gauge the level of interest from non-RSLs. Among the issues it is studying are the type of organisations likely to bid for grants, their motivation and the sort of return they would expect.
A Housing Corporation spokesman said it wanted to be prepared for when the Housing Bill, which allows non-RSLs to receive grants, becomes law.
'We are testing the market in the same way as any organisation would if it was moving into a new market,' he added.
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