Tenants of Tower Hamlets Council's Collingwood Estate and Horwood Estate voted by the narrow margin of three votes against transfer to a new landlord. Of the 451 tenants voting, 50.3% voted against transfer. A higher 'no' vote was recorded by leaseholders, with 81% of the 162 voting against the proposal.
The Department of Communities and Local Government confirmed that it had received 49 applications from 38 councils for inclusion on the housing transfer programme. It has also received 16 requests to progress with arm's-length management organisations.
New applications increase bids for gap funding including the following councils:
With large bids already being considered from Liverpool Council (£135 million), Manchester Council (£43.7 million) and Sefton Council (£35 million), the gap funding budget of £182 million is clearly inadequate. The DCLG are reported to be considering options for increasing it.
Tenants of Renfrewshire Council were warned by their landlord that rents could double if they vote against stock transfer. Independent commissioned research suggests that average rents would rise from £53.66 to over £100 in ten years if the stock was retained by the Council. The same research predicts average rents of £70 in ten years if the homes transfer to Renfrewshire Housing Association.