Raynsford's way forward

The housing sector looks set to get a single tenancy, after the government broke its long silence on the forthcoming Green Paper exclusively to Housing Today.

Housing minister Nick Raynsford this week gave his first preview of key elements of the paper. These include harmonising council and housing association rents on the likely basis of capital values dampened by earnings. The paper is also likely to call for more imaginative schemes for shared ownership and to endorse sub market rented homes for key workers.

Raynsford outlined his determination to end the "complete nonsense" of current rent structures. This would happen before an overhaul of housing benefit, he confirmed.

The minister strongly hinted that the paper would include proposals for a single tenancy. When asked if this would stop anti-transfer campaigners playing on council tenants' fears, Raynsford said: "I think those who are opposed to transfer will find another argument. Under the current arrangements there's a genuine anxiety that tenants feel."

The long-awaited paper now looks set to appear next month. "We are in an advanced stage of preparation," Raynsford said.

He revealed that rents would be harmonised over the next few years. "This is something that has to be approached in stages, and clearly if you have not got a coherent rent structure it's very difficult to put in place a sensible reform of housing benefit." But he added that the government wanted to avoid paying compensation to housing associations to cut rents.

Asked about basing rents on capital values dampened by local earnings he said: "I can't tell you, but it would be a logical progression."

He signalled continuing support for introducing shopping incentives to housing benefit as part of a new emphasis on choice in housing. To help achieve this Raynsford flagged up an increase of shared ownership schemes and he suggested that government would be looking to associations to provide more sub-market homes for key workers, like Peabody Trust's Murray Grove development.

Raynsford was speaking after a speech to a south east regional housing conference. In the speech he said: "I believe there is more of a sense of energy and excitement around the housing world today than at almost any time in the last 25 years." But he also criticised "take it or leave it" allocations policies and rents that "don't make sense".