22 July 2005
Councils and housing associations should be able to decide which properties can be sold under a new government scheme to extend home ownership, according to the Chartered Institute of Housing.
in a response to an Office of the Deputy Prime Minister consultation paper, the institute says that landlords might decide not to offer Homebuy to their tenants at all if they fear being left with less popular stock.
'This would affect the value of housing associations' asset base and therefore future viability and borrowing capacity,' it says.
Where land is expensive or in short supply, a landlord might stipulate that it will not sell more than a fixed percentage of homes.
In addition, says the response, local authorities should be able to use their entire receipt from the sale of properties to build new housing rather than be required to offset part of the sum raised against debt.
The institute also suggests that a repair or 'sinking' fund should be set up to assist tenants who buy a share in their home but later discover they cannot afford part or full home ownership.
PFjul2005
