Transfer associations to have most homes within the year

The number of homes owned by voluntary transfer associations will eclipse those belonging to traditional housing associations within the next year.

Housing academics are already predicting that the change will have a profound effect on the character of the sector, taking it even further away from its charitable origins.

The gap between the two types of housing association is currently around 70,000 homes.

But up to 50,000 homes are due to transfer to new associations during the course of the next six months, closing the gap to little more than 20,000.

Transfers in Peterborough and Trafford that are due before the end of next year would ensure parity at the very least.

At the moment, traditional housing associations own approximately 19% of all rented social housing in England and Wales; transfer associations own almost 17.5%.

But the gap is narrowing as more associations are created by stock transfer. Post-transfer associations appeared for the first time in this year's Housing Corporation list of the top 20 largest associations by stock owned and managed, published this week. Knowsley Housing Trust and Helena Housing displaced traditional associations to take up positions 15 and 18 respectively (see "Top of the Stocks", above).

In Scotland, transfer associations have already exceed traditional associations following the stock transfer in Glasgow. Glasgow Housing Association is now the UK's largest social landlord with over 80,000 properties.

Hal Pawson, housing researcher at Edinburgh's Heriot-Watt University in, said that the increasing dominance of transfer associations would lead to a change in the sector's image within the next five years.

He said: "Transfer associations don't have the same heritage as established associations. Their priorities are different, they generally have to work with a lot of debt and are focused on working in one local authority area. They are more business-focused.

"As a result, over time, the image of housing associations as charities, with those involved in their governance seen as people doing good work, will filter through to the wider public."

He added that representative bodies in Scotland and England, the SFHA and NHF, would have to adapt to represent the business-focused concerns of transfer associations.

He highlighted the debate surrounding the payment of board members as a first step.