NFTMO Mulls Stock Transfer Guidance

The National Federation of Tenant Management Organisations is considering publishing new guidance to help tenant groups choose housing associations as stock transfer partners.  Under rules due to come before parliament in the autumn, councils will be forced to co-operate with requests from tenant groups for stock to be transferred to housing associations.  Although the rules allow stock to be transferred to new associations set up by tenants, NFTMO have accepted that the transfer costs may make this too difficult. Instead groups will look to housing associations to partner with. Read more on Inside Housing.

Landlords Urged To Pay £2m to Fund New Forum

dTenants are set to push councils and housing associations to pay them up to £2 million to enable them to have a stronger voice on the national stage. The four main national tenant organisations - the Tenants’ and Residents’ Organisations of England, the Tenant Participation Advisory Service, the Confederation of Co-operative Housing and the National Federation of Tenant Management Organisations - are all united behind the plan. They are calling for landlords to pay 1p per tenant per week - or 50p per tenant per year - to fund a new national tenant forum, equating to £2 million a year. The forum has been set up after more than a year’s work between the NTOs and other tenants after the coalition government axed the £1 million National Tenant Voice in July 2010. The new forum does not have a budget, however, which will limit its scope. Instead its members - who are all tenants - will be contacted by one of the four main bodies by phone or electronically to give their views about government policies and proposals. Read more on Inside Housing.