Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council

The Future of Council Homes

Tenants will decide homes future

A multi-million pound investment could be made in the Borough's Council homes - if tenants give their backing.  Stockton Council has agreed to give tenants the opportunity to consider the proposal to transfer the ownership of its 10,500 homes to a new-style Tristar Homes.

The Council believes that the proposed change would unlock funds for the improvement of homes across the Borough.

As part of the proposal, Tristar Homes would be changed from an Arm's Length Management Organisation into a not-for-profit housing association, registered with the Tenant Services Authority as a provider of social housing.  It would own the homes, as well as manage them.

The decision by the Cabinet (the Council's decision making body) to make this proposal was taken following detailed a consultation which included considerable tenant involvement. Council representatives and the Housing Futures Customer Group (our tenants' consultation group) have been working together as a Joint Reference Group to look at what kind of organisation would own and manage the homes in the future if the transfer went ahead.

The Cabinet has also agreed that under the proposal the new-style Tristar Homes would form a new housing group with another local housing association - Housing Hartlepool. Working together as part of a group would provide the opportunity for both organisations to increase their capacity to deliver what their tenants really need by sharing their expertise and experience.

Over the coming months the Council will be running a major consultation exercise to make sure tenants have all the facts about what transfer would mean if the new style Tristar Homes became your new landlord. The Council will be working in partnership with tenants to draw up a formal "Offer Document", which will contain all the details about the proposed transfer.

Transfer is not a foregone conclusion.  It can only go ahead if the majority of tenants who vote in a ballot, planned for next year, are in favour.

Why transfer?

An independent survey has shown that, over the next 30 years, the Council's homes need around £600million of repairs and improvements to bring them up to and then maintain at a modern standard. 
 
Under current Government rules we are not able to borrow the money needed to bring homes up to the standard you have told us are important to you, via recent surveys.  Also, almost a third of every tenant's weekly rent has to be passed to central Government to subsidise housing in other parts of the country.

A new-style Tristar Homes, operating as a housing association, would be able to keep every penny of your rent which would be invested back in to homes and the housing service and would be able to borrow the money needed to improve homes and estates and keep rents affordable.  This would unlock funds for improvement which are not available to the Council.

Keeping you informed
The Council wants to make sure that every tenant is fully consulted on transfer and by law has a duty to consult with tenants on any proposed changes to their housing service and keep everyone up-to-date at every stage of the transfer consultation process.

The Council will make sure that every tenant has received all the information they need to make an informed decision in the ballot planned for next year.

The first in a new series of our Your Home Your Say newsletters is now available.  Each issue of this new series will help explain how transfer works and what it would mean for tenants and their homes, if it goes ahead. The latest issue covers:

• Why the council is proposing to transfer homes
• Answers to some popular questions being raised
• How you can become more involved in the process
• Details on how you can become a board member of the proposed new organisation

Check the facts
All the information we publish has to undergo a rigorous set of checks by the Government, specialist lawyers and your Independent Tenants' Adviser.  The Tenant Services Authority (the Government agency responsible for registration and regulation of housing associations) checks all information relating to compliance with its registration and regulatory requirements.  Literature from other groups and individuals does not have to undergo any such checks.

If you have any queries on stock transfer please contact us on freephone line on 0800 432 0891 or you can ring Engage Associates, your Independent Tenants' Advisor, on 01845 537145.

Would you be interested in becoming a "Shadow" Board member for the new-style Tristar Homes?
The new-style Tristar Homes would be run by a board, made up of 12 people  -  4 tenants/ leaseholders, 4 Council nominees and 4 independent people.  In the early stages leading up to the ballot of tenants, the board would be set up but it would operate in "shadow" form only.  It would not become a full working board making decisions about the policy and direction of the organisation unless tenants voted for the transfer to go ahead.  Shadow board members will be recruited shortly.

The Housing Futures Customer Group have agreed that the appointment of tenant and leaseholder board members will be by an application and interview process, with shadow board members being selected by a panel for their skills and experience.

If you would like more information about becoming a shadow board member or an application pack, please contact the Housing Futures team on freephone 0800 432 0891.