About the housing transfer
Why is the Council considering Transfer?
There are 5 reasons why Renfrewshire Council has decided that the best option for its tenants is to transfer all its houses to Renfrewshire Housing Association.
1. The Scottish Housing Quality Standard
The Scottish Executive has set out standards for what it believes constitutes acceptable, good quality housing – the Scottish Housing Quality Standard (SHQS). All Councils and Housing Associations are required to ensure that their homes reach this standard by 2015. Renfrewshire Council has estimated that it would need to spend £300 million to achieve the SHQS by 2015 and has reached the conclusion that it cannot spend this kind of money without increasing rents to unacceptably high levels.
2. High Rents
Council rents in Renfrewshire are already amongst the highest in Scotland. This means that the Council has limited scope to borrow more money to pay for repairs and improvements, while at the same time keeping rents at a level that tenants can afford.
3. High Levels of Housing Debt
Like many Councils in Scotland, Renfrewshire Council has a high level of housing debt. The debt relates to loans taken out in the past to build new homes and to fund maintenance and improvements to the housing stock. The debt stands at around £154 million.
4. Debt Write-off
An arrangement between the Scottish Executive and the UK Treasury means that, if the Council transfers its homes to a housing association, its housing debts would be written off by the Treasury. Debt write-off means that the 36p in the pound presently used to pay debt charges would be freed up to increase the levels of investment in your homes and keep rents lower than they might be otherwise.
5. Subsidy to RHA
As part of the transfer deal, the Scottish Executive has offered to pay Renfrewshire Housing Association a subsidy of £73 million if there is a Yes vote in the ballot and RHA becomes the new landlord. This means that instead of having to pay for the housing stock, RHA would receive a subsidy which equates to around £5,000 per house.