Birmingham’s proposed stock transfer was mired in controversy this week as its tenants’ consultation came under fire, and community groups demanded an investigation into allegations of unfair evictions.
The council’s proposed demolition figures were also hotly disputed. Birmingham Defend Council Housing dismissed a council statement that “thousands of Birmingham city council tenants have expressed their support” for the transfer.

“If you believe the figures that the council is putting out, you may as well say that tomorrow is Christmas,” Birmingham DCH chair Frank Chance said. “Their figures don’t even compare to ours and they seem to be canvassing opinion in areas where they think they will get a positive response.”

The council said face-to-face discussions with more than 31,000 tenants had resulted in 48 per cent expressing support for transfer, or “three times the number of tenants against the idea”.

But the anti-transfer campaign estimated the council only canvassed 17.6 per cent of the tenants who will be affected by the 88,000-home transfer, England’s largest.

Council leader Albert Bore denied this: “We are determined that all our tenants and leaseholders should be in a position to make an informed decision about an issue that is vital to delivering decent, modern homes in the next 10 years,” he said.

Meanwhile, a dispute over arrears between the council and Birmingham Citizens’ Advice Bureaux, the city’s social housing partnership and Liberal Democrat group leader John Hemming is still raging.

Claims that eight council and 11 housing association tenants have been evicted for arrears due to unpaid housing benefit are denied by the council.

But Hemming said: “They are getting into a right mess and have evicted people who have not received their housing benefit for non-payment of rent.” Cabinet member for housing Dennis Minnis (pictured) called the allegations “absolute rubbish”.

“I contacted the Citizens’ Advice Bureau,” he explained. “When I asked for names and addresses so I could check out the circumstances, I was told the 19 cases had been pulled together not very scientifically and related to cases going back to last year.”

Hemming also called for the transfer ballot to be halted because the council’s scrutiny committee had upheld evidence he produced on “overestimated” housing department demolition figures.

Committee chair Mike Olley agreed the housing department had “overestimated or over-guesstimated” the number of demolitions when it said 25,000 homes would be knocked down by 2018 if the transfer went ahead.

“The figures were impractical. When you knock a house down you must re-house the tenant elsewhere,” he said.

However he did not believe the transfer ballot should be called off.