12 December 2008
By Neil Merrick
The failings of the housing finance system must not be used by local authority landlords as an excuse for poor performance, the head of the new tenants' watchdog said this week.
Peter Marsh, the Tenant Services Authority chief executive, backed calls for urgent reform of the housing revenue account but added that councils should not overlook the need to provide a quality service in the meantime.
Speaking at a CIPFA seminar on local government finance in London on December 11, Marsh regretted that judgements over whether local authorities offer their tenants value for money tended to be 'clouded by the HRA'.
A speedy outcome to the government's HRA review was needed, he added, so that councils could enjoy the same freedom as housing associations, with the potential to use rent income to help fund house building.
'We need to understand the difference between housing association, local authority and arm's-length management organisation finance,' he told Public Finance before the seminar.
Marsh admitted the outcome of the review could upset people, but said it was vital to look at how councils cross-subsidised one another through the HRA, and how some of the money collected in rents was 'perceived' to be taken by the Treasury.
The TSA began regulating housing associations on December 1. Consultations over a wider regulatory framework, including councils, start on January 19, but Marsh stressed it was not his intention to burden local authorities with more red tape.
'We don't want to see 20 new housing performance indicators, but any good landlord should be monitoring its service delivery and sharing that information with us as well as its tenants,' he said.
Some councils that set up Almos to raise money to meet the decent homes standard are now considering whether to transfer their stock to a housing association because the HRA deprives their Almo of sufficient money for ongoing repairs and maintenance.
Oldham Council met this week to decide whether to go ahead with a ballot of 12,500 tenants whose homes are currently managed by First Choice Homes. The National Federation of Almos has warned that other local authorities might follow Oldham's lead if changes to the HRA are not forthcoming.
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