Genesis Housing Group won the tender to buy 1,100 Church of England homes, for around £200 million, in partnership with the residential property company Grainger Trust. The two will pay 50% each of the purchase price and have equal equity in the homes.
The sale has not reached this stage without a degree of controversy. Tenants, who have benefited from low rental in the estates and who wanted to see the homes sold to a housing association without the involvement of a private company, repeatedly expressed their concerns. Those concerns had political support, with a joint statement from three Members of Parliament - Simon Hughes, Kate Hoey, and Harriet Harman - expressing disappointment that the Church Commissioners had agreed to the sale.
It is understood that the sale conditions include an undertaking from Genesis not to sell off large numbers of the homes within the first five years following acquisition. This excludes individual homes becoming vacant through shared ownership.
Pathmeads HA, a subsidiary of Genesis Group, will manage the homes on behalf of the partnership.
North Norfolk Council completed the £50 million transfer of its 4,650 homes to North Norfolk Housing Trust. The transfer was supported by nearly two thirds of tenants in a ballot in 2005.
The transfer of more than 2,000 homes from Tower Hamlets Council was delayed, with the ODPM seeking more information. Tenants on estates in the Parkside area of Bow voted for the transfer with a majority of just seven. The transfer to Old Ford HA was due to complete by the end of February 2006. It is believed a tenant has secured Legal Aid to apply for an Injunction to block the transfer, which may be contributing to the apparent reluctance to sign-off the transfer.
A Glasgow HA report compiled for the Scottish Executive revealed a shortfall of more than £350 million in the funding required to carry out the proposed programme of secondary transfers. Second stage transfer would disseminate ownership of the Association's 72,000 homes to some 63 separate organisations.
It is unlikely that the Scottish Executive will provide funding to meet the shortfall, although it will still expect the Glasgow HA to deliver community ownership. This may mean that alternatives to second stage transfer will have to be considered.
Leicester HA agreed to acquire 56 flats on a Kings Oak Homes 255-dwelling development in Northampton for £5.8 million. The homes will be offered for affordable rent and shared ownership, with four of them adapted for wheelchair use.
Over three-quarters of tenants of Mid Devon Council voted against transferring their 3,800 homes to the newly formed Mid Devon Homes (80% turnout). The Council must now consider alternative ways forward.
Tenants of Newtown HA completed the transfer to Newydd HA. The transfer was initiated when it was established that Newtown HA did not have the resources to bring the homes up to the Welsh quality standard. The dwellings were to be transferred to Mid-Wales HA but that was frustrated because of difficulty in securing the necessary £4.2 million funding.