Landlords Mull 'Sister Companies' To Swerve Policies

Housing associations are consulting lawyers about setting up ‘sister companies’ to free stock from the effect of government policies. Deregulatory measures contained in the Housing and Planning Bill give landlords the freedom to sell stock without the regulator’s oversight. This would allow associations to create sister companies and sell stock to them, effectively removing them from measures such as the rent cut and Right to Buy. Lawyers have fielded initial queries from a range of landlords and are understood to be formally advising some on the move. The move would likely prove controversial with the government if it was seen as a way to evade reforms. Read more on Inside Housing.

'Moving Homes into Vehicles to Avoid RTB Sales Won't Work'

A social housing lawyer has warned councils that moving high-value homes into local authority-owned vehicles to protect against Right to Buy sales is unlikely to work.  Scott Dorling, partner at law firm Trowers & Hamlins, said: ‘People have been talking about setting up vehicles outside the local authority’s control to shelter high-value voids… but it goes back to the issue of why a local authority would be doing that. The only reason would appear to be to avoid a well-known government policy.’ He added that if councils were trying to protect high-value voids from disposal, those properties cannot be effectively transferred into a company wholly owned by the local authority, as local housing revenue account rules limit disposals to just five dwellings in a year. Read more on Inside Housing.