Tenants reject council housing transfer

Council tenants in Birmingham have voted against a plan to transfer the city's council homes to new housing associations, in a major blow to the city council and the government.

The result of the ballot, announced in April, showed that 67 per cent of those who voted rejected the transfer. The city's council homes will now stay in council ownership.

What was proposed

The council had proposed transferring its housing stock of nearly 90,000 homes, the largest of any council in the country, to a group of new housing associations. It said the move was the only way to raise the money needed to repair and modernise the homes.

The council has estimated that billions of pounds are needed to bring its homes up to a decent standard. Many of them, including tower blocks and estates built in the 1960s and 1970s, need new kitchens, bathrooms, windows and heating, and some need major structural work.

Under the transfer, the new landlords would have been able to borrow money from private lenders to pay for the work, something the council cannot do under current government rules. The government would also have written off the council's housing debt.

Why tenants said no

Opponents of the transfer, including tenants' groups and trade unions, argued that council housing should stay in public ownership, where tenants have more security and a democratic say over their landlord.

They warned that rents could rise after a transfer, and that tenants would lose the rights they have as council tenants. They also accused the government of using the promise of investment to push councils into selling off their homes.

Supporters of the transfer said tenants had been guaranteed their rights and that rents would be protected. But they were unable to convince a majority of those who voted.

A blow for the council

The result is a setback for the council's leader, Sir Albert Bore, and for the government, which has encouraged councils across the country to transfer their housing stock. Birmingham's would have been the largest transfer ever.

The council must now find another way to pay for improvements. It will have to rely on its own resources and government funding, and some tenants may have to wait longer for work to be done.

What tenants can expect

The council says it will continue to repair and improve homes, but warned that there is not enough money to do everything that is needed. It will now draw up new plans for investment, and look at other options.

Tenants' groups say they will hold the council to account and campaign for more government money for council housing. They want the government to allow councils to borrow to invest in their homes, in the same way that housing associations can.

For the city's council tenants, the vote is a clear statement that they want to stay with the council. The challenge now is to make sure their homes get the investment they need.