The housing minister has given his firmest indication yet that the government's plans for rent restructuring will be amended to make them palatable for the housing association sector
His assurances follow last week's findings by Housing Today that associations see rent restructuring as the biggest challenge facing them.

Housing minister Nick Raynsford said government would "amend and adapt" its proposals to safeguard the sector's interests, and insisted that bankrupting associations was not on the government's agenda.

Raynsford told Housing Today: "We are listening to those concerns being voiced [by housing associations], because there are genuine concerns, [and] we will adapt and amend our proposals to maximise the benefits of the new structure we want to see, while at the same time safeguarding the interests of the housing association movement."

He added: "Our objective remains to ensure we create a more coherent framework which everyone agrees is sensible but doing it in a way that does cause disruption that will be damaging to the long term future of the housing association movement and which devoids individual associations being forced into bankruptcy. I have always said this is not on our agenda."

Many housing associations have predicted financial difficulties as a result of rent restructuring and are eagerly awaiting the results of government consultations on rents, due out next month.

After coming under pressure to relax its line on inflation only rents, last week the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions confirmed that its modelling of rents included an RPI plus 0.5per cent option. (Housing Today, 12 October).

Source

Housing Today