Council transfers 8,700 homes to RSL
Warrington Council transferred its entire housing stock on Monday to the Golden Gates Housing Trust.
Diana Terris, chief executive of the council, will sign an agreement with the chief executive of Golden Gates Housing, Peter Mercer, at lunchtime today at the Town Hall.
Warrington Council said it will be the first council to move all of its housing, some 8,700 houses, to a registered social landlord, other stock transfers normally being partial handovers.
The council said the move would generate £105m over the next five years and around £530m over 30 years. Up to now, around £10 of each tenant's weekly rent has been paid to the government to subsidise the costs of housing provided by other councils. Now this money will remain with GGHT for the benefit of all tenants.
Mercer said: "This is a massive boost to housing in the borough which in a time of recession is fantastic news. It will affect around 20,000 people in our 8,700 homes, with investment beginning immediately. This means that modern kitchens and bathrooms, as well as double glazing, can be installed over the next five years."
Tenants voted in favour of Golden Gates Housing becoming their new landlord earlier this year.
How do companies get portfolios like this from the council?
By sam
The RSL is actually the former ALMO arms length company which successfully ran the housing for the council. It got a yes vote from the tenants through a Government consituted process.They voted for this landlord over alternatives based on a business plan and offer document
By CAROLE