Landlords Seek To Deregister From Charity Regulator

Housing associations are considering changing their legal status to avoid Charity Commission rules in the wake of the government’s deregulation drive. A number of landlords are thinking about deregistering with the charity regulator, which would allow them to avoid the body’s regulations over stock disposals. The Housing and Planning Act will remove the requirement for associations to obtain consent from the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) before they dispose of stock. However, many associations that are registered with the Charity Commission would have to instead obtain consent from this body instead. Read more on Inside Housing.

Deal Over Right To Buy Could Lead To Privatising Housing Associations

Rather than face the prospect of legislation that would force associations to sell their homes the National Housing Federation, has spent the summer conducting secret negotiations to offer a “voluntary deal” to the government.  There is a great deal of ambiguity about the exact legal status of housing associations – but at present, their £60bn of debt does not sit on the government’s balance sheet. A compulsory Right to Buy scheme could change this forever: if private assets can be forcibly sold, they are clearly not private assets. The government could decide to move to privatise housing associations. The rumour is that investment bank Goldman Sachs has been appointed, to model how a nationalisation and privatisation of housing associations could be carried out.

The NHF believes that introducing a voluntary Right to Buy scheme will avoid compulsion and stave off privatisation. Read more on the CityMetric website.