[harwood red]

The directors of a stock transfer housing association are on a salary same as all the staff (although I'm sure they are hefty salaries). They are also run as not for profit assoc's which are governed by the Housing corporation (and they certainly do their checks!). Yes the rental income does go back to the Housing assoc but at the same time all repairs and improvements are also done by the Housing assoc. the council will be no longer responsible for any property repairs and in many cases even the grass cutting. In our case we still use the Direct Services Dept as sub-contractors aswell as other local firms also. The main reason councils decide on a stock transfer is purely down to a government housing standards directive which is coming into force to say properties have to be up to a certain standard by a certain year(unsure which year it is). Many councils have now found themselves in the position that they are unable to get their properties up to standard financially in time. The big difference being Housing assoc's can apply for loans raised against the housing stock that councils cannot. That is the biggest factor!