Green Paper Leaves Question Marks Over Council Housing Companies

Councils are seeking clarification over the government’s stance on town hall housing companies after the Social Housing Green Paper hinted at plans to curb the use of subsidiary landlords to dodge Right to Buy sales. A number of councils intend to press Whitehall officials to explain the government’s position on local authority-owned housing companies as they review how the green paper could affect enterprises they have set up. The document said “local authorities should deliver new affordable housing through their Housing Revenue Account (HRA)” unless they have transferred their stock or the HRA cannot sustain new development. It added that where housing companies are delivering and retaining affordable housing, ministers “would expect them to offer an opportunity for tenants to become homeowners”. Read more on Inside Housing.

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Local Housing Companies: Opportunities And Concerns

The Smith Institute has recently published the first in-depth analysis of one of the most significant new developments in the housing sector. ‘Delivering the renaissance in council-built homes: the rise of local housing companies’ estimates that around 150 councils have set up local housing companies (LHCs) over the last five years or so and that, on the current trend, over half of English authorities will have one by 2020. The majority of the current LHCs are in London or the South East.  The LHC model has been adopted by authorities regardless of political control. Download the report from the Smith Institute website.

Dromey Reveals Development Detail

Labour has commissioned pilot projects to examine ways councils can work more closely with housing associations and developers as part of its pledge to double house building by 2020. Jack Dromey, shadow housing minister, said these would include the formation of new local housing com­panies which could help a Labour government deliver the pledge made by leader Ed Miliband this week to build 200,000 new homes a year. Read more on Inside Housing.