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New Housing Partnerships & Stock Transfer New Housing Partnerships have been promoted by the Government since very soon after the 1997 election. Funds are available to local authorities to establish proposals for developing housing which is not to be owned by the council, or to transfer existing council housing stock. The 'new landlords' could be existing private companies or housing associations, or newly-established bodies, which could have minority council representation on management committees. In all cases, a strong emphasis is placed on tenant consultation and representation. In July 1997, the Government made £45 million available to local authorities for New Housing Partnerships in 1997/98 and 1998/99. Subsequent additional funding has since been made available. The primary aim of New Housing Partnerships is to secure sources of investment for housing from sources that are not available to local authorities and do not count against the Public Sector Borrowing Requirement. After initial reluctance to lose their landlord responsibility, some councils are now pursuing an option of transferring all their stock - the most prominent of these being Glasgow. A 'whole-stock transfer' is seen as the only way of dealing with the debt repayment which absorbs half the income from rents, and of dealing with a 17-year backlog in modernisation requirements. There is much tenant suspicion of stock transfers, partly on the basis that the devil one knows is the preferable one, and partly because of concerns about the effect on rents of having to repay private investment loans. There are also concerns about the rights of both existing tenants and homeless people on transfer. If local authorities are not to be housing providers, how do they fulfil their obligations to homeless people? Should the new landlords inherit this responsibility? Could they be accountable? No arrangements have yet been agreed, but the point appears to be recognised by the Executive, and should be dealt with in the forthcoming Housing Bill. Tenants generally have preserved tenancy rights, and these will have to be entrenched if they are to be satisfied and provide the support needed for a transfer to take place. Comment The Scottish Churches Housing Agency in 1998 set out four aspects of Scottish housing that would need to change if homelessness is seriously to be challenged: · Increased public investment in housing · Training and jobs for those who can work. and fair benefits for those who cannot, including the restoration of benefits to young people · A network of emergency housing throughout Scotland · Support in a variety of forms for those who need it to make use of housing opportunities. The present proposals are not designed to address all of these issues, but the level of investment in housing for rent is vital. A target of 10,000 new or improved houses per year has been identified by housing professionals and academics. The Executive's objective of 6,000 per year for the next 3 years falls short of this. Hopefully, the investment in stock transfers will tackle some of Scotland's poorest quality stock, but it will not create new housing. The proposals for extending the right to buy are going to add to the factors that drain the pool of affordable rented housing that is needed to address homelessness, and may do so dramatically.
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