The government has fired the starting gun on a race for £180m to plug funding gaps in stock transfers.

The money, trailed by the ODPM in May and announced in Monday’s comprehensive spending review, will allow transfers to go ahead at councils whose homes are valued at less than the amount required to invest in them.

However, the government has been criticised for not allocating a larger sum – £500m was said to be more realistic (HT 23 April, page 14).

Experts have warned that £180m could easily be swallowed up by one or two local authorities and many others could miss out.

Ian Doolittle, head of public sector at lawyer Trowers & Hamlins, said: “It’s simply too small. Tower Hamlets will eat up most of that. Birmingham will also be interested.

“Ultimately, it will limit the options open to most councils and result in them being less creative in trying to meet the decent homes target.”

Source

Housing Today