30 March 2007
Housing associations are opposing plans to claw back some of the profits they make selling homes that have been partly funded by government grant.
At present, they pay a sum equivalent to the grant into a special fund, which must be spent on new homes in line with regional priorities.
But the Housing Corporation is proposing that, from April 2008, a larger sum should be paid into an RSL's recycled capital grant fund to reflect the price the property is sold at.
The National Housing Federation argues that this would threaten the sector's independence and prevent landlords from spending money in line with tenants' needs.
'Housing associations are already very good at recycling resources for social purposes,' said Neil Griffiths, the federation's research leader. 'Changing the system isn't going to create any extra resources.'
But Richard Hill, the corporation's director of programmes, said it had launched a 'legitimate debate' over the use of receipts. Allowing landlords to spend money from the fund to build up land banks increased flexibility, he added.
Surpluses from sales by RSLs rose last year by 16.5% to £536m, representing about two-thirds of total surpluses before tax.
PFmar2007
