The Chartered Institute of Housing has called for a register of funding advisers to be set up.
The register would help councils and housing associations to pick properly skilled funding advisers during stock transfers.

The recommendation was part of the CIH's response to a government consultation on removing barriers to transfer. The consultation, launched in October, recommended:

  • standard legal agreements and process guidance for transfers
  • new landlords, funding advisers and finance directors should be involved in the process earlier
  • councils should set up good-quality central stock databases
  • associations should no longer need 30-year funding in place on the date of transfer
  • the quality of funding advice should play a bigger part in the Housing Corporation's decision to register transfers.

The CIH welcomed most of these recommendations, but had some reservations: it said the government model used to calculate prices does not reflect real costs.

It also recommended that more training on stock transfer finance be provided for independent tenant advisers, staff and board members, so they can take the lead in developing business plans.

The National Housing Federation also welcomed most of the ideas in the consultation.

But it raised fears that using the government valuation of a council's stock as a baseline figure, rather than an asking price if associations were competing for the transfer, could reduce the funding available to invest in homes post-transfer.

Source

Housing Today