Authorities prepare to oppose fellow councils’ campaign to end rent redistribution
Councils square up for a fight
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Worried councils are drawing up battle plans to keep hold of hundreds of millions of pounds in payments which help them repair homes and keep their tenants’ rents down.
Several major authorities are looking to club together to combat a campaign by umbrella groups to stop the government pooling tenants’ rents for redistribution to authorities most in need.
Umbrella groups the Chartered Institute of Housing, the Local Government Association and London Councils have all said redistribution is unfair and should be abolished.
But authorities that benefit from the current regime, such as Camden, have become concerned about their financial future.
Chris Naylor, executive member for housing strategy, which will receive £26.5 million this year, said: ‘We would face major increases in rents and major reductions in services if we lost this subsidy.
‘Camden is very concerned. We are keen to play a part alongside other councils in putting pressure on the government.’
Councils that depend on hundreds of millions of pounds of government income are gearing up to fight a campaign that threatens their tenants’ quality of life.
A group of 60 councils – led by Waverley – have run a campaign to end the way rents are pooled by the government for redistribution to councils in greatest need through the current housing subsidy system. The Local Government Association has also called for an end to redistribution in a paper backed by the Chartered Institute of Housing, London Councils and the National Federation of Arm’s- Length Management Organisations.
Councils that benefit from the system accept the need for change but are alarmed by the direction of travel. They are now plotting how best to protect their tenants.
A source from one local authority, which receives cash from the finance regime, said: ‘If it turns into a battle of where the money is going to go and where it is distributed, without arguing for a larger pot then, the Treasury wins, and I think it is the end of council housing.’
Terry Stacy, deputy leader of Islington Council, said it was arranging a meeting of councils that benefit from the system. He agreed that the system required an overhaul but said authorities that benefitted should be offered some kind of buffer. ‘You can’t pull the rug from underneath us and expect us still to be standing,’ he added.
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