Government announces next round of housing transfers

Seventeen councils in England have been given the go-ahead to proceed with plans to transfer more than 125,000 houses for repairs and improvements over the next two years.

Fourteen councils have been granted immediate places on the 2003 housing transfer programme.

They are:

• Forest Heath DC.
• Hartlepool BC.
• LB Barking & Dagenham.
• LB Islington.
• LB Lambeth.
• Manchester CC.
• Middlesbrough Council.
• Peterborough CC.
• Purbeck DC.
• Royal Borough of Kingston.
• Stroud DC.
• Trafford MBC.
• Wakefield MBC.
• Wirral MBC.

Three local authorities, North East Lincolnshire, LB Tower Hamlets and LB Hackney, have been asked to further develop their transfer proposals.

Housing minister Keith Hill said that, subject to tenant approval, the seventeen councils should be able to carry out 26 transfers of all or part of their stock to registered social landlords (RSLs) as a way of reaching the government's Decent Homes target by 2010.