16 May 2008
Ministers have seriously underestimated the cost of giving council and housing association tenants more choice over where they live, says a new report.
Local authorities have until October to bid for funds to set up choice-based letting schemes, possibly in partnership with other councils and registered social landlords.
Successful bids will each receive £100,000 in matched funding from the Department for Communities and Local Government.
But the Housing Quality Network report, published on May 9, points out that this is a relatively small sum compared with the average of almost £500,000 granted to the first 27 CBL schemes set up between 2001 and 2003.
The government wants all councils to offer choice-based lettings by the end of 2010. A study published a year ago shows 36% of councils already run schemes, with a further 60% planning to establish one within three years. Eighteen more councils were awarded funds for CBL schemes last December.
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