Guidance to come as government puts transfer programme back on track

Speaking at the National Housing Federation's Transfer to Transform conference today, junior housing minister Tony McNulty was expected to say transfer guidance delayed from September would be released in the next few days.

He said councils with the most advanced stock transfer plans should submit expressions of interest to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister by 21 March.

At least 15 local authorities, with 150,000 homes between them, are set to put themselves forward, including Wakefield, Trafford, Swindon and Peterborough.

Guidance for the 2004 programme will be released in September. Applications will be due in by Christmas.

Arrangements for paying off redemption charges and overhanging housing debt in partial transfers will be in place for the 2003 transfer programme.

McNulty also outlined a number of changes aimed at removing hitches that have seen transfers stall in the past year, including:

consultation on gap funding to allow negative-value transfers to go ahead

a requirement for councils transferring more than 12,000 properties to involve more than one landlord

proposals to transfer homes to housing associations with stock in neighbouring authority areas will not be automatically be ruled out.

The news came as England's second-largest transfer went ahead in Bradford this week. Meanwhile, the go-ahead for Britain's largest transfer – Glasgow's £4bn 80,000-home scheme – was set for 5 March.

The transfer timeline

2003

guidance published within days on the internet; expressions of interest to be in by 21 March

applications by 16 April

programme announced by June 2004

2003 guidance will apply subject to clarification; invitation to apply in September this year

expressions of interest to be in by November this year

applications by Christmas

programme announced next March