Treasury urged to fund £100m transfer dowries for North-west

The north-west regional housing board has put pressure on the Treasury to find an extra £100m in July's spending review to fund stock transfers for three councils.

In a submission to the Treasury, the regional housing board said Liverpool, Salford and Preston councils would need multimillion-pound dowries in order to transfer and meet the decent homes standard.

All three are considering transferring all or some of their homes, subject to consultation with residents, to meet the 2010 standard.

But the funding gap is so large that they would have to pay substantial dowries to any housing associations that took over the stock and were liable for the necessary repairs.

Liverpool's funding gap has been estimated at £60m. Preston faces a shortfall of about £30m, a council spokesman said, and Salford would need "tens of millions", according to a source at the North-west regional housing board. Manchester faces a funding gap of £18m on its Hattersley estate but is trying to raise the money locally.

There will have to be some support if we are to deliver the targets set by the government

Maria O’Brian, Liverpool council

The regional housing board source said: "This is something that needs to be considered in the context of the next comprehensive spending review. If these four authorities opt for stock transfer as the whole or part of their programme, there will be a funding gap.

"We will need to be convinced they have done all they can to find a solution to this problem themselves. The regional housing board is a last resort because we have set a programme for 2004/5 and 2005/6 and have already committed funds so there is no scope for significant resources for other projects."

Maria O'Brian, head of regeneration at Liverpool council, confirmed there would be a funding gap if the council opted for further rounds of stock transfer. The gap is estimated at £60m, though this is based on a two-year-old stock condition survey and is subject to change.