Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council

The Future of Council Homes

YOUR HOME,  YOUR SAY,  YOUR VOTE!!!
TENANTS VOTE "YES" TO TRANSFER

£140 million improvement plans for Stockton's 10,400 Council houses are on track after tenants overwhelmingly voted in favour of transferring their homes to a new-style, not-for-profit Tristar Homes.  The vote was carried out on behalf of the Council and Tristar Homes by the independent Electoral Reform Service.

Almost 12,000 tenants received ballot papers, with 58.7% voting before the ballot closed on Wednesday (16 June) - 89.6% of them in favour of the transfer.   The full ballot result is as follows :

Total electorate - tenants eligible               11965
Total votes cast                                         7023
Less spoiled/invalid votes                              23
Total valid votes cast                                 7000   (58.7%)
Voting YES                                             6273   (89.6%)
Voting No                                                   727    (10.4%)
Voting yes as a % total electorate             52.4%
Yes/No ratio of votes                              8.6 to 1

Tristar Homes will now become a not-for-profit registered provider of social housing and the tenants' new landlord.  Tenants and the Council will be equally represented on its new Board.
Work will now commence to make transfer a reality, although various details still need to be agreed before the transfer can finally take place.  These include what land and buildings will go with the houses, what services will continue to be provided by the Council and many other, mainly administrative tasks.

Because it can access funding sources not open to the Council, Tristar can now invest £140 million in improving and repairing homes across the Borough in the next five years. This will include double-glazed windows for homes that don't already have them within three years of the transfer.  The oldest kitchens, bathrooms and heating systems would be replaced within five years.  

Tenants' rents will stay affordable and, unlike the present system, all money collected from these will stay with the new-style Tristar Homes and be invested in their homes and services. Under the current system, some of this money goes to support council housing in other parts of the country.

The transfer will also mean more resources to tackle anti social behaviour, improvements in dealing with repairs and out-of-hours appointments, and the introduction of a handy person service for older tenants.

£13 million more will be available for local environmental improvements, with Tristar agreeing priorities with tenants and tenant groups.

A copy of the Formal Consultation Offer Document, giving details of the improvements to homes and services that will now take place, can be downloaded from the link at the bottom of this page.

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 via recent surveys that are important to you. 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.

The new-style Tristar Homes, operating as a housing association, will 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 will unlock funds for improvement which are not available to the Council.

Keeping you informed
The Council has made sure that every tenant has been 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 has kept tenants informed via this website and and the "Your Home Your Say" newsletters.  The council will continue to update via these methods, however, the "Your Home Your Say" updates will now be published inside the Tristar Homes Publication, "Tristar News"   Other local publications will also include brief updates as appropriate, as we work towards transfer in partnership with the new-style Tristar Homes Ltd.

Check the facts
All the information we publish relating to transfer has to undergo a rigorous set of checks by the Government and specialist lawyers.  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 on the Council's Free phone information line on: 0800 432 0891 or e-mail housing.futures@stockton.gov.uk