Blackburn with Darwen district council in Lancashire said it had made a decision to apply to transfer 10,000 units in next year's round despite £60m overhanging debt.
Housing director Phil Richards said: "If Burnley [a neighbouring council on this year's programme] can do it with an overhanging debt of £20m, I'm sure we can too."
Chester council will be submitting a 7,200-unit whole stock transfer after a feasibility study by consultancy Chapman Hendy.
Head of housing services David Rook said: "The council decided that the status quo is not going to give us sufficient flexibility to invest in the sector as they would like and the conclusion was that we should seek a place on the transfer list."
And Warrington council is set to make a decision on a submission later this month after a plan by Graham Moody associates recommended the council should go for a whole stock transfer of its 11,000 units.
Torbay council confirmed it would be submitting a proposal for its 3,000 units if a tenants' ballot scheduled for later in the year is successful.
The news follows Sunderland council's plans to seek a place for its 38,500 units and preliminary moves by Birmingham - England's largest landlord (Housing Today, issues 148 and 146).
It means that up to 70,000 units have now been earmarked for transfer in the 2000/01 round - with four months still to go before the submission deadline.
HACAS director Jeff Zitron said: "Next year's round is almost certainly going to be significantly larger than this year's. Not only is likely to be mammoth, it could well be hairy and have tusks. And this is well before all the details of the round are known - there are always some councils which play their cards close to their chest."
Zitron added that if the issue of overhanging debt was successfully overcome another layer of councils could be attracted.
Source
Housing Today
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