Recession could hit homes transfer

THE recession poses a “significant risk” to Warrington’s plan to transfer the town’s 8,500 council homes to a registered social landlord, Town Hall chiefs have been warned.
Pressure on government finances has created a reluctance to confirm that the borough council’s housing debt – currently £45 million – will be written off.
This creates a potential “show stopper” says Coun Bob Barr, (pictured) executive member for planning, regeneration and housing, in a report to be considered by the council’s executive board next week.
This could result in either the new landlord – the re-constituted Golden Gates Housing – having to take on the debt and generate surpluses to service the loan or the council itself keeping the debt on its balance sheet and servicing the loan from general funds.
“As such this represents a significant risk to the successful transfer of the council’s housing stock to Golden Gates Housing,” the report states.
Discussions are continuing with the government to try and resolve the issue.
Other problems stand in the way of the transfer.
The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) wants the new landlord to adopt the Decent Homes Standard, which is actually lower than the Warrington Standard so significant reduces the attractiveness of the offer to tenants.
Warrington wants a 20 per cent uplift in management costs to provided improved services to tenants, but the HCA favours 10 per cent, which again reduces the offer to tenants.
The transfer will only go ahead if tenants vote in favour of it and although a survey earlier this year indicated that 80 per cent were happy with the services they receive from GGH, another independent survey suggested that only 57 per cent were in favour, 24 per cent had no opinion either way, 16 per cent needed more information and three per cent totally against stock transfer.