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Transfer of the Council’s Housing Stock
In March 2003, the Council completed the transfer of its homes to North Hertfordshire Homes Limited, a new Registered Social Landlord (RSL) set up to take over ownership of the Council's stock. North Hertfordshire Homes is a non-profit making company limited by guarantee and registered with the Housing Corporation.
The transfer took place following a ballot of the Council's tenants in July 2002 and a resulting majority vote in favour of transfer. The full ballot result was:
| Ballot papers returned: | 7,475 (of which 17 spoilt ballot papers) |
| Turnout: | 68.6% |
| "Yes" vote: | 4,467 (59.9%) |
| "No" vote: | 2,991 (40.1%) |
The decision to pursue stock transfer was taken by the Council following an independent report which showed that over the next five years, £52 million would need to be spent to bring all council homes up to a modern standard. The report also showed that over the next 30 years, £350 million will be needed to maintain the housing at a high standard. In contrast, the Council would have only around £5 million to spend each year on maintaining this stock and is restricted in law in what it can borrow.
By transferring its homes to North Hertfordshire Homes (NHH), the Council will be able to preserve good quality, affordable housing well into the future. NHH is free from the borrowing restrictions that apply to the Council and is able to borrow the money required to repair, maintain and improve the transferred homes. NHH is embarking on a major programme of repairs and improvements, as well as undertaking the long-term maintenance of the stock. It is able to do this without charging rents that are higher than they would have been with the Council.
North Hertfordshire Homes website
Stock transfer across the country
North Hertfordshire is one of many councils across the country to have transferred its housing stock under the "Large Scale Voluntary Transfer" programme, which has been running since 1988.
To date, according to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, there has been 168 transfers by 137 local authorities. This has resulted in over 706,000 dwellings that have been transferred to registered social landlords with the support of tenants and the approval of the First Secretary of State for the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.
