Fund to help with rent restructuring will have little effect if spread across sector, they say
Black and minority ethnic housing associations have reacted with dismay to confirmation that only £15m is to be made available by the government to help them cope with rent restructuring.

The figure, in a Housing Corporation consultation paper this week, is the same as that pledged by housing minister Lord Rooker in a letter to BME housing associations in July. Then, BME associations questioned whether £15m would be enough to offset the effects of rent restructuring, and said they hoped to receive more government support.

At last week’s Federation of Black Housing Organisations’ annual conference, a number of chief executives expressed disappointment at the amount. Jas Bains, acting chief executive of Ashram Housing Association, said the money would have little effect if distributed across the entire BME housing sector.

BME associations had hoped the government would follow recommendations made by consultant Hacas Chapman Hendy in research for the then Department of Transport, Local Government and the Regions.

Published in July, the report indicated that as much as £25m would be needed to help BME associations implement the government’s guidelines on rent restructuring.

BME associations’ difficulty in implementing rent restructuring have been blamed on their comparative reliance on private finance, and the fact that they often own properties in areas where target rents are low.

Hacas Chapman Hendy director Derek Joseph said the £25m figure sought to take into account BME associations’ role as developers. He said: “They will be disappointed if, after distribution of the money announced, they are given just enough to break even and no more.”

The number of landlords set to benefit from the £15m is uncertain. Only a minority are expected to be eligible for the payments, to be allocated by the Housing Corporation over three financial years starting from April 2003.

The consultation deadline is February.

Associations wishing to share in the funding must submit applications by April.

BME transfer bids get backing

Selected BME housing associations could receive £100,000 to fund the assembly of transfer bids under Housing Corporation and ODPM plans. The two bodies are working on three pilot stock transfer schemes for BME-led registered social landlords. The aim is both to assist BME associations’ involvement in transfer and to establish good practice. It is understood the proposals will be finalised by December. The pilots are expected to be in three different areas: the South, the North, and the Midlands. London-based Presentation is the only BME-led housing association to have undergone a stock transfer ballot process so far.

Source

Housing Today