Almost half of housing associations have not backed government plans to extend the right-to-buy policy to the sector, contradicting David Cameron’s claim that he had their full support.



45% of National Housing Federation (NHF) members did not back a deal agreed with the government last month, under which housing associations will voluntarily sell their homes to tenants who want to buy them.

The figures contradict Cameron’s assertion at Wednesday’s prime minister’s questions that “the entire housing association movement” supported the policy. Although 55% of the NHF’s 584 members voted in favour of the voluntary scheme earlier this month, 39% abstained or did not respond and 6% opposed it.

Under plans announced by the Conservatives during the general election campaign, housing association tenants would be given the right to buy their properties at discounted rates in line with the existing scheme for council tenants. After widespread criticism, the plans were replaced by the voluntary scheme. Of the housing associations that did respond to the NHF ballot, 86% supported the policy.

But a number of housing associations were unhappy with the ballot, which was conducted in late September and early October, and gave them just six working days to consider and formally respond to the deal.

Jennie Ferrigno, chair of Red Kite Community Housing, one of the associations that voted against the proposal, told the Observer: “There wasn’t enough time to consult, there wasn’t enough time to discuss it, and we certainly weren’t able to talk to our tenants about it, who actually are the ones that are going to be directly impacted by it. So we just felt uncomfortable.”

In the days leading up to the vote, Ferrigno wrote on her blog that she was “deeply concerned that the NHF appears to have stage-managed this process with one outcome in mind, rather than acting as an honest broker to allow the whole sector to come to a timely and balanced view on this important matter”.

The NHF said that they “had to survey their members over a short time period due to the legislative timetable”.

David Montague, chief executive of the L&Q association and chair of the g15 group of the 15 largest housing associations in London, said all 15 voted in favour of the proposal.

He told the Observer that choosing how to vote was “a really difficult decision”. He regarded a voluntary agreement as a way to avoid the statutory imposition of right to buy on housing associations, which would have “compromised our independence” and “destroyed” housing associations’ homebuilding ambitions.

However, he expressed concern about the government’s zeal for home ownership. “We’re fully behind the government’s desire to increase home ownership,” he said, but insisted that housing associations’ “roots are charitable and our first priority must be to support people on low incomes”.

Some associations fear the government is reneging on the deal it agreed with the NHF. The proposal voted on by NHF members was that housing associations would be fully compensated, in cash, for properties whose tenants exercised their right to buy. However, the draft housing and planning bill published on Tuesday suggests that associations would instead receive grants with “any terms and conditions [ministers] consider appropriate”.

Tony Stacey, chief executive of South Yorkshire housing association, told Inside Housing: “If it is going to be a grant with all kinds of strings attached, that isn’t what we voted for.”

Ferrigno said the bill was unclear. “There are a lot of unhappy people regarding the ambiguity … There isn’t enough detail to get any comfort from anything at the moment.”

The housing associations that backed the deal manage 93% of housing association rented homes.

The NHF has praised the agreement, with the chief executive, David Orr, saying: “This is a better and more flexible right to buy for residents, for housing associations and the nation’s housing supply. Residents will get the opportunity to realise their dreams of home ownership and housing associations will be able to replace the homes sold, boosting the nation’s housing supply. We made the offer on the back of sector-wide support for our proposal, which addresses our initial concerns around supply and independence.”





