Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council

The Future of Council Homes

Formal Consultation on Housing Transfer

Over the coming months, Stockton Council is to ballot all its housing tenants on whether it should transfer its housing stock to a new-style Tristar Homes.  

Tristar currently manages and maintains the homes on the Council's behalf.  Under the proposals, Tristar would become a  not-for-profit Housing Association run by a Board of Directors made up of equal numbers of tenants, Council and independent members.  It would also aim for charitable status and would take on ownership of the houses and become the new landlord.

As a Housing Association Tristar would be able to access funding from sources not open to the Council, the move would open the way for a £600 million modernisation of homes and services over the next 30 years - £140 million of it in the first five years.

At the beginning of March copies of the Formal Consultation Offer Document were delivered to every tenant in the Borough.  The formal consultation document gives tenants balanced information on the transfer process and what it would involve, and makes it clear what it would mean either transferring to become a tenant of the new-style Tristar - a 'yes' vote - or voting 'no' and staying with the Council.

Tenants are urged to read the document and give their views using the pre-paid reply, by freephone or email.  The deadline for views to be recieved by the Council is Tuesday 6th April 2010.

The multi-million pound investment would include all homes having double glazed doors and windows, along with modern kitchens and bathrooms where they are needed. It would also include introducing better ways of dealing with repairs, out-of-hours appointments, anti social behaviour. A new handy person service for older tenants is also proposed.

The Council has worked closely with tenants over the last 18 months to consider how best to manage its homes and invest in them for the future.

A copy of the Formal Consultation Offer Document 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 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 later this year.

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.