We Are Not for Sale Part 1 for As They Redevelop for Sale, and Decant Campaigning Tactics Against This Kind of Tenants

REN T RS LE PART TWO

UNDERSTANDING TENANTS CHOICE ... WINNING THE BALLOT ... ORGANISING CAMPAIGNS . LESSONS FROM WESTMINSTER ... FIGHTING HATS . THE FAILURES OF THAMESMEAD & CANTRIL FARM . CHALLENGING FINANCIAL CONSULTANTS ... AND MUCH MORE ... WE'RE NOT FOR SALE Scat Publications 1 WE CAN WIN

The Government's intention is unionists campaigning to and organise an effective to dismantle council housing defend their homes and their campaign and remove it from local jobs. It is the second part of the This pamphlet is based directly control. The Housing Act 1988 10 Point Action Plan set out in on that experience. It aims to introduces far reaching We are Not [or Sale Part 1 and help you win. changes into all rented housing, should be read together with which will affect the housing that Action Plan. The advice prospects of everyone on a low and lessons of campaigning are DATABASEHELP income for the worse. the same now as they were then. The SCAT/NALGO Landlord Database is now in operation. It But this isn't going to happen The only way that the aims to provide up to date overnight. They have a 10year govemment's plans can be information on the new plan to transfer council housing beaten is by tenants organising landlords as they emerge, and to a variety of "independent" to defend their homes and to on the privatisation deals being and private landlords, and sell stop the privatisation of planned. The Housing Act only off the rest for owner housing. Tenants allover the contains the framework for the occupation. And to make sure country have already had to transfer of estates: the any investment in housing will campaign against the sale of Government and the Housing usually come from private their estate. And many of them Corporation are making up the sources rather than public have won hugely successful rest of the rules as they go spending. victories. Their experience is along. The Database will keep that you have to be prepared, This is a Guide to that policy, you up to date with how the be organised, be well informed written for tenants and trade rules are being changed.

HOW TO READ AND USE THIS REPORT

This report is packed with information, • The Fixers: Stealing your watch to • Eviction for Sale (section 5,page 19) tell you the time (section 10,page 34)is ideas and analysis and is directly briefly shows the ever present danger of based on tenants experiences in the an accurate description of a new breed sales of empty blocks & barter deals. last few years. It aims to inform, of consultants cashing in on privatisation. explain and provide the basis for • Resurrecting Rachman (section 6, This section explores their actions, their action. page 20) provides details of the background and shows how to challenge government attempts to revive private and defeat them. You don't have to read it all through for landlords, explains the new assured it to make sense. Just pick the sections tenancies and also how the Housing • Staying with the Council (section 11, page 37) discusses how to get improved that apply to your situation. This brief run Corporation is supposed to approve new council services, campaign for a NOvote down should aid that choice. landlords. " and outlines an invaluable draft Charter • Winning at Westminster (section 1, • Housing Association - Friend or to negotiate right now withyour Council. page 3) shows how tenants have Foe (section 7,page 24)aims to describe successfully organised to defeat some of the different types of HA, how they are • Jobs Under Threat (section 12,page 41)spells out the threat to the quality and the sharpest and most powerful changing and the kind of questions to ask quantity of jobs and how to take action. developers in the country. and information to obtain to enable you to judge them. It includes brief notes on the move • Pick a tenant (section 2, page 7) towards privatisation of management of explains the procedure for the so called • Housing Co-ops - a real answer council housing. Tenants' Choice scheme and key points (section 8, page 27) gives a critical to watch out for. explanation of co-ops and lists the key • Thamesmead Tragedy (section 13, page 43)describes howthe government's questions and issues you need to take • Council Cop-outs (section 3,page 12) claim that Thamesmead is a success is describes the basis of "voluntary into account before even seriously in fact a total sham. transfers", what they would really mean considering a co-op. for tenants, how you can challenge them • Stockbridge Fiasco (section 14,page • Money talks: fmances of and includes details of Gloucester's privatisation (section 9, page 30) 45) shows how the large scale original tenants' campaign. Heseltine privatisation scheme at outlines exactly how the government is Knowsley is also a total failure. Yet both • Housing (less!) Action (no!) Trust using carrots & sticks to force tenants (never!) (section 4, page 15) sums up into considering privatisation. It provides Thamesmead and Stockbridge are used as successful models by the government. tenants feelings about the reality ofHATS. invaluable information on how to analyse This section gives a run down on HATS financial deals together with a brief • Useful addresses and publications together with details of tactics and a explanation of the new Bill aimed at (section 15,page 47)provides just a few strategy to fight them. increasing rents. starting points. Scat Publications 2 WE'RE NOT FOR SALE

THE ROUSING ACT 1988 - THE BARE BONES

• PICK A TENANT Although promoted as the RIGHT TO OPT OUT of being a Council tenant and instead "choose" to be the tenant of a housing association, co-op or approved private landlord, it is still the right of any 'approved' landlord to buy an estate, unless more than 51% of the tenants and leaseholders vote no in a ballot. (S93-114lPart IV)

• HOUSING ACTION TRUSTS The Government has powers to declare HOUSING ACTION TRUSTS - unelected bodies whose job is to "target public and private resources, renovate local authority housing and then pass it on to different tenures and ownerships". Tenants won the right to be balloted before a HAT is imposed on their estate. (S60-921Part JIl)

• MARKET FORCES IN THE PRIVATE RENTED SECTOR Any new letting by any of the new private landlords, including Housing Associations, will be Assured tenants i.e. no Fair Rents, less Security of Tenure and a loss of legal rights. (61-4SlPart I)

• TIlANSFORM HOUSING ASSOCIATIONS: Housing Associations will become non-profit making private landlords.A1l new Housing Association tenancies will be Assured Tenancies. Their Government grants will be cut and they have to borrow money for building or renovation from the private sector, which means much higher rents. (S46-59lPart n.) ~ ROUSING AND PLANNING ACT 1986 cleared the way for the privatisation of housing againSt the will of the tenants.

• EVICTION FOR SALE Councils (and HATs) can evict tenants in order to sell the empty estate to a private developer. Tenants have to be offered "suitable alternative accommodation". (Sch 2 8S Act1S986 Act)

• TllANSFER OF ESTATES Councils can sen an estate or the whole stock with tenants living in it to a private landlord or housing association. The tenants have to be consulted and the DOE to give their consent The DOE have issued regulcltions covering these voluntary transfers. (56 H&Pl861Circ 6/88, issued 11.3.88 + 6132-6 HAaS)

• PRIVATISATION OF MANAGEMENT Councils can "privatise" the management and maintenance of their estates to a privatEfcompany or to a housing association or trust, subject to the approval of the Secretary of State •.Tenants have to be consulted. • NEGOTIATIONS FOR A MANAGEMENT CO-OP. Tenants can ask the Council to allow them to set up a management co-op.The council must give written reasons for refusal within 6 months.

• WIND UP NEW TOWNS Development Corporations such as Telford, Basildon, Peterborough are to be wound up. Their Housing-will go to housing associations or private landlords instead of the local Council as originally planned. WE'RENOT FOR SALE Scat Publications 3 WINNING AT .WESTMINSTER

The Walterton & Elgin Action Group have been campaigning GROUP FORMED successfully since 1985 against the extremist Tory Westminster Within four days, the Action Group was Council and a parade of developers, private consultants, solicitors formed and 200 residents turned up at the next HousingCommittee where itwas and HousingAssociations. WEAGhave: to be discussed. After a Council survey • stopped Westminster from selling a heating system. Butinstead of doing any found that 93% of the tenants wanted to single home to a developer repairs,Weslminster Council want to sell remain council tenants the Council • forced the Councilto repair 80 homes the properties to developers dropped this plan. for tenants. Westminster's first plan was to bring in The Action Group was not just opposed • ensured 200households wh? wanted Bellways Urban Renewal to carry out a to the sell off. It wanted repairs. WEAG to movewere offered good quality homes £72mredevelopment. Bellwayswanted to developed its own plans for the repair ~ sc~ed off half a dozen ~evelopers knock down the terraced houses, and and modernisation of the estate. When mcluding Bellwaysand Regalian. . replace them with 1800pre-assembled the Council tried to sell 20 homes to a • .turned. the tables on the Tones by homes.One third would be sold off and couple of local housing associations, usmg .thelr sell off laws to stop the sale although the rest would go to existing WEAGwarned them not to get involved of their homes. tenants, they would be owned by a as the sale was against the wishes of the The Walterton & Elgin estates in private Trust, not by the Council. One of tenants. Paddington Churches Housing Paddingtonconsist of850homes in seven the tower blocks was to be sold to Trust Association (HA) agreed to respect the Victorianterraced streets plus 200homes House Forte for a hotel, and the other wishes of the tenants. At first Brent in two 21 storey tower blocks. The split between a Youth Hostel and Peoples HA were prepared to get Victorian houses had never been homeless family accommodation. The involved, but withdrew when WEAG modernised and some still have no Housing Committee agreed this scheme distributed leaflets to their staff, and a bathrooms.The tower blocks are riddled with the slogan "Creating a new coachload of tenants went to their AGM with asbestos and need new lifts and community"! to protest.

Westminster tenants demonstrate Philip Wolmuth Scat Publications 4 WE'RE NOT FOR SALE

With the defeat of the Bellways scheme, £6mfor the developer. Tenants disrupted BEATING THE BILL Westminster Council started to repair the meeting and Labour Councillors were and modernise the homes for tenants. ordered to stop displaying the 50' long The Action Group began to investigate Sixteen houses were picked for petition against the proposals,containing whether there was any way that the modernisation; WEAG fought for a high the signatures of over 1100residents. community could get control of the quality rehabilitation: i.e. proper space estates away from the Council. But any standards,sound insulation and central COACH ATTACK such scheme needed the co-operation of heating. WEAG also made sure the the Council - and Westminster would tenants were rehoused where they Six potential developers were identified never agree. wanted to go. Another 40 homes are now by PMI for the Walterton & Elgin estates Ironically, Part N of the new Tory being rehabilitated to the same high barter scheme. The Action Group Housing Bill looked as if it might mean standards. decided to bombard the six developers that tenants could both buy the property with letters,phonecalls and publicity. By the end of 1986,the Council were and do. the repairs in the face of They embarked on a series of raids to Westminster's opposition. WEAGstarted getting frustrated by the fact that far from knock out each company. A coachload to investigate how it could be done, and selling off the estates, they were doing it of residents armed with placards, called a residents meeting to discuss it. up for tenants. In secret, they revived the posters, leaflets, songs and musicians The decision was to go ahead and form idea of a "barter deal" with developers and cameras, would invade the a private company of the residents which for both estates. They employed Project company's offices and demand that the could "bid" for the estate using the Pick Management International (PMI)toset up company withdrew from the scheme. a Tenant procedure in the new Bill. the scheme. Since January 1987PMIhave been paid £20,000a month for conducting After such a raid at their Mayfair offices, The 1988Housing Act was not designed negotiations with estate agents and Regalian Property Developers agreed to to apply to situations like the Walterton developers. WEAG have raided their meet WEAG. Lee Goldstone a Director & Elgin estates. It gives rights to private offices four times with coachloads of of the company and son of its founder, landlords to acquire stock very cheaply residents, flyposted a photograph of two agreed "that he would sit down with the from Labour authorities. Its main PM!partners with details of their fees - tenants and discuss how their estates assumption is that such councils will Why are these men smiling - and could be redeveloped. If they could not oppose the sale and so the procedure for exposed their lack of expertise. come to an arrangement satisfactory to transfer is weighted in favour of the both sides, his company would withdraw "applicant" landlord. This is the case with from the negotiations". After a similar Westminster - but the difference is that raid, Lovell Urban Renewal also agreed it is the Council trying to sell off and Regalian bows to to respect the wishes ofthe residents and privatise the estates, while the new refuse to bid. landlord is the residents trying to save tenants' pressure WEAG's Campaign delayed the scheme their homes. Leading property developer minster Council which has Regalian could be poised to been under constant attack going out to tender until May 1988,by withdraw from the bidding from this particularly vigor· which time the scheme was so in Westminster City Coun· ous group of tenants. dr. controversial acheme to The council is due to dis· complicated the tender documents were privatise Walterton and cuss the scheme later this a foot thick, and Regalian estimated it Elgin housing estates in week. Paddington. This emerged The tenants action group would cost them £5,000just to read them! following talks in London are now waiting to see what Despite extending the tender period for i>etween representatives of Westminster Council's next the tenants action group and move will be. There are two two months, none of the six developers Regalian. other develope,.. besides Re· submitted bids. After the meeting, ten- galisn known to be inter- ants' spokesman Jonathan ested in the sell-

£30M DOWRY? position. Going door to door to get signatures is an opportunity to meet all MADCAP BARTER SCHEME WECH and a local Housing Association, the residents, explain what is going on Paddington Churches HA, have and invite them to a future event. A 50 A JOKE SAY DEVELOPERS estimated that because of the bad state foot long petition has also made good of repairs and the neglect over the last publicity photographs, as well as making three years, Westminster willhave to pay Wates Builders have joined the other 2 the Council Committee Meeting feel developers who have returned th~ invit- a dowry of around £30 million to the uncomfortable having to discuss the sale ation for the PMI Barter Scheme. They residents and WECHto bring them up to of the estate when 90% of the residents have refused even to consider the deal. standard. Regalian said they would not waste £5000 involved had signed in protest. by even reading the Scheme. Lovell said Settingup WECHand deciding to try and they were •stunned " by the invitation. • They go to all Housing Committee Wates described it as "horrendous". take over the estates has been a big meetings whether or not their estates are decision for the residents. Throughout with 3 down, there are only 2 developers on the agenda. Council meetings have left. This is not enough for the Scheme the three years campaign, the question had to be moved around the Town Hall to .even begin. The council needs at was "how do we provide decent low cost and even held in secret. And it keeps the least 3 bids for the Scheme to be legal. homes for, and accountable to, the local Now, it is not even worth the 2 remain- Opposition Councillors on their toes ing developers even thinking about the community". The answer is council deal~ We say to thpm "Don't!" housing - or at least it was. In • They challenge the council's reasons The PMI Barter Scheme has taken 18 mon- Westminster, this is no longer a realistic for their policies. A Show Home found ths and over £1/2 million to get no- argument. The only way that the residents itself the site of a public meeting of the where. We always warned that it would people looking around: WEAGfound that fail, and now we have been proved right. feel they can stop their community being Below are the phone numbers of those broken up and sold off is take it over most of the potential buyers would have still involved in the dead duck deal. themselves. preferred to rent, but could not find We say "Stop wasting our time and money: anywhere. This was good propaganda PMI - Mr.Hammond - 897 1121 It has taken enormous amounts of work against the Council's version of 'housing Harp - Mr.Adams - 0322 65522. and expert help from Paddington need'. Ideal - Mr.Denman - 04862 76155 Churches HA. The process is extremely complicated and had strained even the • They have got very good links for resources of WEAG.It's not a course that information and leaked documents within WEAG recommends to other tenants the council. A Councillor once stormed campaigns unless there is really no out of a meeting because WEAG had a WEAGwere trying to say, a good turnout alternative, and they have access to copy of a council paper before she had of people. And most important an substantial additional resources to set it seen it. immediate piece of (new) information up correctly • WEAG have been lucky to have had that they can hang a story on. WEAG have had tremendous success a number of grants to pay for a co- • Journalists and researchers will need in beating off some of the sharpest ordinator, publicity, transport,newsletter to have the full story explained - ring developers in the country and taking etc. Butthe main resource they have had them and make the time to talk to them: on one of the most rabid Tory councils. is the persistence and determination of be sure you know what you want the Their story contains key lessons for us a large number of local people who are programme to say. not giving up. all. Make sure you are visible locally too. Posters stuck up in everyones windows and flyposted on walls and empty houses look good and remind everyone what's THE LESSONS going on. WEAG painted slogans on the tops of the tower blocks, hung banners Walterton & Elgin across the street. The People WEAG printed 4000 postcards: "We are Action Croup a little worried about our landlord" with • They organise from the ground up, the Iron Man wearing a Westminster rather than relying on formal badge. It resulted in legal threats from bureaucratic structures. Monthly the Council with the result is that it has "supporters" meetings are held for all BALANCE AFTER 3 YEARS universally become the symbol of members, the notice....for which is Westminster Council and the WEAG distributed to 200+ homes. This allows Tenants Rehoused 200 as many residents as possible to get campaign. involved. The Action Group does not Homes in Repair 35 have very formal structures, but Direct Action concentrate on lots of doorknocking and Direct action is a vital part of any on organising events and actions that New Homes 25 campaign. It gives strength to those everyone can join in. Their involved and demoralises the enemy. It "representativeness" is shown by the Developers Beaten 6 can be fun. It should involve everybody. turnout at meetings and events, as well And it may well be the only way left to as signatures on petitions. Chairs of Housing 4 you. • They produce a 4-sided newsletter • Pick your target: every two months with special editions for urgent news which is distributed to Homes Sold Off o For instance: The Council, the Housing every home on the two estates. This Committee, Councillors, The Town Hall, contains news,photos,cartoons, and private companies, developers, reprinted newspaper articles. consultants, housing association offices and meetings, the Housing Corporation. • A lot of WEAG's most active members The Government, MPs,Government are women pensioners - so transport is The Press and Publicity offices, Party HQs etc. always provided, especially for evening Journalists and Photographers have to be meetings and visits to the Housing "bribed" to cover a story by being given • Plan your means: Committee. events that can be written up in a way Picket events such as seminars, • Petitions have been collected to prove that their editors will like: i.e. good exhibitions, conferences, public the widespread support for WEAG's photographs, events that sum up what the appearances etc. Go and speak to

... •

Meetings, Company AGMs etc with lots of supporters. Find out their office locations, phone numbers, home addresses, other business interests Direct Action needs careful plamting and preparation. Mobilise the residents by leaflets and by visiting; you will need to visit at least twice as many people as you need. Arrange transport. Make sure there are banners, posters, loudhailer, music etc. Make sure the Press are coming - TV, photographers, journalists. But build up a list of press who can be trusted not to leak your plans to the enemy. Discipline and surprise are absolutely essential.

The Enemy Right at the beginning, WEAG realised they had a better chance of influencing the developers than the Council. Private companies are very vulnerable to bad publicity and make their decisions with different criteria than a Council. Westminster Council might not care about being shown up in the press, but public reputation and respectability are very valuable to a private company. They do not like doing business in public and are uncomfortable at being associated with an unpopular policy. WEAG have become famous for their "raids" on developers. See their Video The NO TO HATStenants used the same tactic very successfully on the consultants employed by the DOE.

Planning a Raid: Target the company - Soften them up with letters, phonecalls. The lack of response can then be used as an excuse to "raid" their premises with a delegation of residents to get answers to your letters. Conferences and seminars can be picketed to warn the company of the consequences of getting involved in Walterton tenants demonstrate outside Regalian offices Philip Wolmuth buying your homes. Phone calls - apart from being troublesome - can provide valuable information on..anydeal, and on journalists!. And you have to show you without committing a criminal act. how the company is dealing with it. are prepared to and capable of more Invading the offices of a private company Meetings can be held with the company, such embarassing actions, untilyou win. is trespass, so the company would have to sue you - more embarassment and but only from a position of strength - You can gain: e.g. after a raid, with a number of tenants, exposure - not the police. But the law at a public meeting, after a committment • Publicity is getting worse and worse - it is worth to listen to tenants point of view. knowing your legal rights for your own • Bad exposure forthe target company plamtingas well as reassuring Publicity is the most important thing. But • Possible withdrawal by company supporters. And for your defence! make sure that it gets back to the target company. Get wide coverage on • Builds confidence of campaign The best direct action need not be illegal - often that's unnecessary and television and radio, send them copies of • Experience and direct contact with press articles in local or national the enemy. creates a diversion from the real newspapers. Coverage in the specialist campaign. But it must be imaginative, press ie for the construction industry - • The enemy becoming defensive well organised, well supported and Construction News, Architects Journal, It's possible to take a lot of direct action make a good photograph! Building, or the housing industry - Roof, Housing - means that other companies knows about the campaign and think is de' twice before getting involved in the first Tory Leader, David Weeks works for place. CDr WhO er.,Loven, and for PROBE, has said that the Council's policy The benefits of direct action are enormous - but only if its a success! house those "with no economic connection with the centre There is nothing worse than an event of LQJ\don" such as "MPs. ~d falling on its face in front of all those WE'RE NOT FOR SALE Scat Publications 7

PICK A TENANT

Or how the landlord• chooses you! Far from being the tenants right • The pre-selection consultation period to "pick a landlord" the Housing Act 88 gives private "approved" • The formal bid landlords the go ahead to make an offer on any council estate. It can • Negotiations on the price and terms be on their own initiative, or because they have been invited in by of the sale the Housing Corporation or by individual tenants. The Council has • The Ballot no say whatever. It is a landlord's charter. • The handover - if you lose. This whole process could take as little THE REALITY OF "OPTING lived in by "non-secure" tenants e.g. short as six months and as long as two or OUT" FROM COUNCIL life tenants, squatters, illegal sub tenants, three years. TENANCIES and licensees have to be sold as part of Most of the wheeling and dealing, and the deal. They do not have a vote. the tenants campaigning will go on during Tenants who get transferred to a new the pre-selection procedure, which is The local authority and all its staff are landlord - whether it's a housing informal and in the hands of the association or a private company, will legally obliged to provide the potential landlord with all the relevant information Corporation. It is essential to organise as have an assured tenancy - Le. higher soon as you know of a threat. Do not wait rents, reduced security of tenure, loss of that he wants e.g. details of tenancies, until the Ballot. rights. You cannot opt back to the names of household etc. The new Council. You will keep your right to buy. landlord has to keep the information Your new landlord will not get any public confidential. APPROVAL CRITERIA money to keep the rents down or do If a tenancy is transferred to a new When it was obvious that few tenants repairs.The only "subsidy" will be if they landlord, any rent arrears stay as a civil pay a low price for the estate - and that were going to be conned into "choosing" debt with the council.They can still go to a Rachman-style private landlord, the subsidy will effectively be paid by the court to get the money back from you. other council tenants. Government invented the "Social A landlord can put in a bid for an estate Landlord": this is what the approval The new landlord can say exactly which that is already, or includes, a tenants process is about. bit of the estate - homes, land, management co-op - they are not communitybuildings, communal gardens Unless a landlord is approved by the protected from a bid. But the new Housing Corporation they cannot bid for etc they want to buy. They have to tell landlord cannot bid for a part of a co-op the tenant what the terms of the deal are; or take over a council estate using a Part - he has to bid for all of it. And the IV "Pick a Tenant" transfer. i.e future rent increases, how often they tenants of a Management Co-op vote as will go up, what plans they have for a block. The criteria for "approval" are that: redevelopment or sale etc. The landlord 1. They have to show their long-term has to be "approved" by the Housing The rest of the estate votes as a whole, committment to provide rented housing Corporation to be allowed to bid. not block by block, so it's not enough just for those in need. to get your block to vote NO. It has to be 2. They have to agree to abide by the There will be a pre-selection 'beauty everybody. contest' ifthere are competing landlords, 'tenants guarentees' on basic terms of organised by the Housing Corporation. It is vital to get the Council to agree now tenancy and housing management There is a detailed procedure for the that all approaches - or even rumours practice. "pick a tenant" bid laid down in the of approaches - by developers or 3. They have to have housing Housing Act·1988. (Sect'lons 96-103, Part private landlords willbe passed on to the management experience. IV) tenants and their organisations 4. They must be "financially viable" i.e. immediately they are received. See the their financial plans and policies must Charter in section 11. show that they will be able to repay the RIGGED BALLOT loans and balance the books. There has to be ballot on the transfer. The 5. They must demonstrate equality of voting system is rigged in favour of the PROCEDURE opportunity in their policies and new landlord. Unless 51% of all tenants • An approved landlord can approach procedures. vote against the deal, it will go ahead, the Housing Corporation with their 6. And most importantly, they must be and anyone who does not vote is requirements and be put in touch with neither controlled or influenced by the counted as a YES vote. There has to be tenants on a particular estate. local council. a minimum 50% turnout. If you are well • The Tenants Transfer Managers They must also be prepared to go through organised you can win the ballot. employed by the Housing Corporation the "pre selection procedure" of a Pick A particular landlord can put in an offer will be going round promoting "opting a Tenant bid, in order to be approved. on your estate, or any part of it as many out" and encouraging tenants to think The Housing Corporation will keep a times as the Housing Corporation allows. about a change. 'public register me' of information about They can learn from the first b 0 who landlords that have been approved: • Individual tenants or a Tenants is in favour and wholS not and chan e \ Association on an estate can ask the • the name of the organisation their deal accordingly. Or if the tenants liousing Corporation for help in "opting • the area where they intend to bid for turn down one landlord,another can bid out". and the whole procedure could start estates The procedure can be divided into 6 key again. • the application form they submit, stages: Empty property is transferred to the new which contains the names and records of landlord for him to let as he likes. Flats • The Landlord gets approval those involved in the organisation

r- Scat Publications 8 WE'RE NOT FOR SALE

FALSE selection procedure was dreamt up. It is • the company or association's legal CORPORATION'S not in the Act. It is a only a requirement constitution CLAIMS? by the Housing Corporation that before • statements of policy they made to get The Corporation also claim that they a landlord is approved, they agree to go approval could go to court and stop a landlord through this process. • annual accounts acting in a way that was in breach of the The Housing Corporation will decide guidelines and the Deed under Seal - through an informal consultation (not a • estimated balance sheet, which is the but other lawyers are not convinced that ballot) which of the possible landlords basis of their claim to financial viability this is so, nor that it would achieve any would be most likely to win the ballot. • BUT commercially sensitive benefit for tenants The listcould be drawn up on the Housing information will be kept secret. The Corporation have said that only in Corporation's initiative or following an inquiry by one particular landlord. Approved Landlords who succeed in "exceptional cases" willthey help tenants taking over estates will have to send in themselves go to court and demand their The Housing Corporation has said that annual accounts and returns on their rights. None of this helps tenants unless 10%of the tenants are in favour of activities. Tenants can get access to this struggling with a landlord about day to a transfer, then a formal bid cannot be File, or consult the SCATINALGO day management issues, or how and put in. How will they count that 1O%? Database. when they use their very wide legal powers, because they cannot complain The Consultation document issued by the The Housing Corporation can remove a to their councillor or appeal to the DOE "Tenants Choice" says "Only the landlord's approved status, but this only Ombudsman and they have few legal potential applicant with the clearest support in each case would be able to means that they will not be allowed to rights .. buy any more estates. They will not lose go ahead with the formal transfer the properties they already own! An approved landlord will only need the procedure. Where there was no permission of the Secretary of State in significant support for any potential order to be able to sell off whole blocks applicant,there would be no formal or individual flats. If the Minister thinks application" . that the "financialviability"ofthe landlord requires them to sell to raise money, then Clear opposition by tenants to any sale THE TENANTS they are likely to get that permission. And to any landlord should stop a predatory the same argument will apply to rent bid at this stage. A Petition or tenants GUARANTEE? ballot to tell the Housing Corporation that increases. your preferred landlord is the council and The whole point of the assured tenancy The Tenants' Guarantee is not much that you do not want any transfer at all is to reduce tenants legal rights in order more than a 'public relations' exercise should, in theory, halt any application- to try and convince tenants they should to make private renting a profitable but don't rely on it! (see section 11.) give up their secure tenancy. investment. Tenants campaigning against During the "beauty contest" the different the Housing Act argued that in a "freely competing landlords - which could negotiated" tenancy between a landlord include a co-op as well as a landlord will and tenant, the tenant had no bargaining PRE-SELECTION BEAUTY try and convince the tenants that they can powers to ensure that their rights were CONTEST improve and manage your estate in ways protected. So the Government invented that they claim the Council cannot do. the "Tenants Guarantee". Tenants so far have found out that they And that they are a "nice social landlord" . have not been offered any choice - one The Housing Corporation has the power landlord has chosen them. And the vote However, they will not be required by to issue "The Tenants Guarantee - was rigged against them. So a pre- the Housing Corporation to tell you the Guidance on Management by Registered Housing Associations" and require all approved landlords to abide by these guidelines. An approved landlord will have to sign a legal undertaking - called a Deed under seal - committing them to following the guidelines. The National FederaQon of Housing Associations has a Model Tenancy Agreement which includes some of provisions in the Guidelines. But these guidelines do not contain legal rights for tenants, nor any easily enforceable obligations. They cover: terms of tenancy recommendations, allocations policies, principles of rent fixing,maintenance and repair policies, consultation and tenant involvement, information to tenants, equal opportunities responsibilities. Copies of the Tenants Guarantees can be obtained from the Housing Corporation. It will be up to the Housing Corporation to enforce the guidelines. If the approved landlord is a registered housing association, then the Corporation can use its normal monitoring powers, withhold grants, appoint new people to the Board and a number of other powers. If it is not a registered housing association, then the Corporation can Andrew Wiart remove their approved status. Housing Corporation officials face Camden tenants WE'RE NOT FOR SALE Scat Publications 9 important details of the deal such as rent excluded because they are not lived in amount offthe arrears has a vote. Atenant levels, sales, tenancy rights, service by "secure tenants" or for any other with a court order against them and a charges etc. Instead you would have to reason; which buildings should be date of possession does not have a vote. judge them on "track record, included because the council thinks they A tenant who dies during the Formal management style and philosophy". Not cannot be managed or maintained procedure no longer has a vote. very easy, if it's a completely new seperately, and other terms of the sale. Long leaseholders are people who have company, or it's a housing association that Four weeks after the council tells the new bought their flat/maisonette from the has never managed a big estate on landlord the terms of the sale above, the council, and the freehold is still owned privatised finances! new landlord has to say whether he by the council. Tenants who are buying You will need as much information on accepts those terms or whether he is a flat during the attempted sell off will these landlords, their finances and plans going to arbitration. still have a vote. as possible to challenge the bid at this At the end of this phase, you will know stage. They must have some idea about whose home is affected. You should have THE CONTRACT how the tenants are going to pay for all made sure that no community facilities or these improvements they are promising. At the beginning of the Ballotperiod the green space is included: the landlord can landlord has seven weeks to inform all Once the formal bid process has started, sell it or build on it. the tenants ofthe terms ofthe deal. Unless with its very tight deadlines and (secret) Challenge what "relevant" documents the all the promises he has made during the negotiations between the Council and the landlord wants. You have the right to "beauty contest" are in this document, landlord, it may be difficultto oppose the privacy - and why should the landlord then they are useless. What is written in principle of selling the estate , and not know about your arrears ifhe is not going this leaflet is the CONTRACTand is the get drawn into arguments about the detail to be responsible for collecting them . only thing that you have any chance of of bid. enforcing. NOTICE OF PRICE: Within three weeks And remember, its very expensive for of the new landlord and the council any landlord to put the time and money agreeing the terms of the deal - i.e. the into setting up these deals. They can also council's terms have been accepted by be scared off with bad publicity - see the new landlord, or else the dispute has Walterton & Elgin (see Section 1).If they been resolved, the council has to tell the know they are going to lose the ballot, new landlord the price of the estate. then they will withdraw. If the landlord disputes the price, he has THE FORMAL BID to notify the council within two weeks. Otherwise the price is fixed and tenants The formal application by an individual should be told. or a company who wants to take over a council estate follows the pre-selection This is the earliest that tenants have any procedure. The landlord bidding should legal right to know what is going on. It have been the clear favourite in the pre- could be a year since the formal selection procedure. And the choice application, if all the stages take the should have included staying with the maximum time. council. Once tenants are formally told of the They must decide which property they intended sale and the price they have got want to buy. It could be a whole estate a minimum of thirteen weeks before the or part of an estate, one block, scattered ballot. Of course tenants will know that a blocks or even individual houses. They bid is being discussed and some of the can also buy the land around an estate details, through the pre-selection or community or office facilities which procedure. But until the price and other are part of a residential block financial details are published, it's difficult to work out rent levels, level of Flats which are part of a sheltered service or the amount of sales and scheme, grouped accommodation for redevelopment the landlord needs to mentally handicapped or where special make deal viable. facilities are provided;, and dwellings suitable for elderly people because a Tenants should demand that their council warden service is provided or specially keeps them in touch with the negotiations suitable cannot "opt out". These are same over which buildings and land are exclusions as for the Right to Buy.Empty included. And gives them fullinformation THE BALLOT on the negotiations about price. flatsautomatically go to the new landlord, The Ballot will be a postal ballot, if he wins the ballot. organised by an independent THE VOTE organisation. It will take place over six THE RELEVANT DATE Only "secure tenants" and "long weeks. The first three are for people to vote. The second three are for the DAY ONE APPLICANTS NOTICE: The leaseholders" have a "vote" for or against a private landlord. Jointtenants only have independent tellers to follow up those new landlord must formally notify the who have not voted. council of what buildings/land they want one vote between them. to buy. The date of the application is Most council tenants are secure tenants. Unless more than 50% of all the secure known as the 'relevant date' and The exceptions include short life lets, tenants and leasholders actually register determines who has the right to "vote". licensees, or tenants of "tied a vote against the sale. Then it will go ahead. Anyone who does not vote for Within 4 weeks the council has to give accomodation". The easiest guide is that if you do not have the right to buy you whatever reason e.g. they are ill or on the prospective landlord the names and holiday counts as a yes vote. addresses of all tenants ( and others) are not a secure tenant. Tenants who affected. The landlord then has the right move in after the date of the Formal There has to be a minimum turnout of to get into empty property, and have application are not secure and do not 50%. If less than half of all the eligible access to "relevant" documents. have a vote. tenants do not vote at all,then the Bidfails. Within 12 weeks the council has to tell A tenant with a possession order Example: an estate with 100 tenants the landlord which flats/houses are suspended while they pay a weekly eligible to vote. 51 vote. 49 vote against Scat Publications 10 WE'RE NOT FOR SALE

and 2 vote for the transfer. The 49 who WHO IS THE HOUSING CORPORATION? did not vote are added to the 2 who The Housing Corporation is a Government quango. It is run by a Board appointed by the voted for, making 51% "in favour". Government. It is paid for by the Government. It is accountable to the Government. The landlord has to tell the council the Who is on the Board? What do they have to offer council tenants? result of the vote within two weeks. The council then has two weeks to raise any The Chairman is Sir Hugh Cubitt, Director of NatWest Bank, Chair of Lombard North disputes they have with the way the ballot Central pIc - a financial institution, and ex-Tory Westminster Councillor. The Chief was carried out or the results. Executive is David Edmonds, who used to work as a civil servant in the Department of the Environment, as did the Deputy Chairman, William McIndoe. Huw Lloyd Williams If the landlord loses the ballot the whole works for Nationwide Building Society, Mark Boleat is Chairman of the Building Societies estate stays with the council. Even if he Association, Peter Cooke works at the Bank of England. All of them connected with the wins the ballot, the landlord does not "privatisers". Others on the Board are David Cochrane and lain Dyer both involved in have to go ahead. He can decide that he Housing Associations. Lady Montogomery is a partner in a travel company and Chair of does not want it after all. So don't let up a Housing Association. Stella Clarke is involved in the "self build" movement. JohnRichards the pressure. works as a consultant with a firm of architects. The Bishop of Croydon, the Right Rev. Wilfred Wood was on the Faith in the City Commission. The Housing Corporation was set up in 1964 to: IF THE LANDLORD WINS • officially "Register" Housing Associations and monitor their activities. The Ballot has two functions: • channel government money to housing associations to build or do up homes to let. 1. To find out whether the majority of Since the Housing Act 1988, they also: tenants are opposed to the transfer or not. • "approve" private landlords or housing associations who want to take over council 2. To find out whether individual housing, and monitor their activities households want to stay with the council or not. • promote estate sales They have appointed Tenants Transfer Managers whose name says it all. Their job is to If there is not a majority against the sale promote, negotiate, and enable the sale of estates. They have no powers to help tenants then the Council has to sell the freehold who want to stay council tenants, even if they want to be a management co-op. of all the flats covered by the bid to the new landlord. Tenants who voted for the [Thanks to London Housing News No 15] sale, and those who did not vote at all will become ASSUREDTENANTSof the new landlord. Tenants in self-contained houses who vote NO stay with the council who continues to own the freehold IS VOTING NO ENOUGH? Tenants in flats who voted to stay with the council become "leaseback tenants" • If you try and organise a boycott but of the council. The new landlord owns then cannot stop people voting, all those the building, and has to lease the flats of boycotting and not voting will count as a those who voted NO back to the council. YES! You could end up as an assured The council then lets those flats to the tenant of the new landlord! So it's a existing tenants - they will stay secure dangerous business. council tenants. As they move out, the • If the turnout is not big enough, and flats will go back to the new landlord. the Bid fails there may well be another But of course the Government wants to Ballot. dismantle council housing departments, It is much better to campaign clearly for so they are making it expensive for a NO vote. It will need a lot of work and councils to keep 'leaseback tenants'. If doorknocking. Organise it like a election you want to be sure 01 staying with the canvas - i.e. talk to every tenant, council, then you have to win the ballot. explaining your case, keep records of Voting NO on your own is not enough! who is going to vote which way, keep • Capital: It looks as if the council will records of who has voted and who needs • Rents: The council will have to pay lose capital money on "leaseback" flats. the new landlord the new market rent for chasing up to vote your way. (See section the flatsthey keep, and will have to either 11.) If you are unhappy with the way that pay that extra cost out of the Housing STRATEGY the Ballotis being organised - publicise your complaints. Tell the Council and the Revenue Account i.e. everyone elses Some people have suggested that tenants MP. rents, or else the leaseback tenants will should organise a boycott of the ballot - have to pay. that means more than half of the tenants • picket the independent tellers offices Although tenants who vote No coUld end refusing to vote at all. • get the Housing Corporation to up paying higher rents, they will stillhave TmS IS DANGEROUS. DO NOT intervene all the rights of a secure tenant and it is BOYCOTT THE BALLOT. The harder to evict them for arrears • as a last resort, organise your own difficulties of organising a BOYCOTTare: alternative Ballot or Petition. • Management: in a few years time, • The Ballot is a postal ballot over a So the procedure is long winded, Councils could fmd themselves with a nwnber of weeks, so you cannot picket nwnber of secure council tenants - mainly thanks to opposition from inside the polling booth or monitor who has and outside Parliament when the those who voted No - living in privately voted and who has not. owned blocks of flats- on different rents Housing Bill was being debated. and with different landlords to negotiate • The Organisation running the Ballotis However the long process can be with. The council can contract out the allowed to chase up people who have not turned to your advantage as you can housing management to the new voted - it does not matter whether they use the time to organise. But never let landlord. then vote YES or NO. up - always try to be one step ahead! WE'RE NOT FOR SALE Scat Publications 11

TIMETABLE FOR A Bm

PRE SELECTION PERIOD

1. Housing CoIpOration and landlord's ap 6'y the Housing Corporation 2. Housing should be allowed 3. Landlor.

FORMALBm (as in Housing Act 1988)

FonpalBid

TBf! PBlCE I (4 weeks)

(CollnCil or landlord.I can appeal at all stages, indepeI\dent arbitration allowed for) .I I CONSULTATION' WIt'B TENAIITS Consultation and Ballot Process

MAX 13 (6 weeks) WEEKS

I 3 weeks to vote NO

THEBESULT Scat Publications 12 WE'RE NOT FOR SALE- COUNCIL TENANTS WIN So far this has meant that tenants have .COP OUTS been balloted. There are no clear regulations, but every ballot so far has been on a simple majority basis except Torbay which was conducted on a THE SO CALLED VOLUNTARY TRANSFERS "rigged" basis ,and later overturned by Ridley himself. Tenants are winning these campaigns - 7 won, 3 lost - by the end Councils can sell off estates or even their whole housing stock with of May 1989so they may change the rules the tenants still living there. These so-called "voluntary transfers" soon. A Petition of 50%+ to Parliament are a farbigger immediate threat to tenants than the "pick a landlord" should still stop the sale. bids under the 1988 Housing Act. A Voluntary Transfer Ballot is on a "winner takes all" basis, like the HATs When it is the council who initiates the sell-off, tenants have fewer Ballot. That means that if there is a rights to object. It does not have to be to an approved landlord: the majority of tenants in favour of transfer, DOE's only concem is that the new landlord is completely then all tenants are sold off. There is no individual right to stay with the Council. independent of the council. Tenants who do not vote are not counted as YES votes. The Secretary of State "in considering DIFFERENT FORMS Transferred tenants will be assured OF TRANSFERS whether to give his consent to such a tenants of the new private landlord or disposal ....(shall) have regard to the housing association. They are NOT Most councils wanting to sell, such as views of tenants liable as a result of the covered by the Tenants Guarantee or the Chilterns, Sevenoaks, Salisbury, disposal to cease to be secure tenants". Housing Corporation approved landlord Rochford District Councils, have set up a He "shall not give his consent if it appears process. Only if the new landlord is a special housing association to take over to him that a majority of the tenants of the registered housing association, does the the housing. This has usually been done dwelling houses to which the application Housing Corporation have any powers to with the active involvement and relates ..do not wish the disposal to intervene. encouragement of senior council officers proceed (Housing & Planning Act 1986). and the Director of Housing. Its basically Most of the Councils pushing these a "management buyout". transfers are Tory District Councils in the South East. They supported the Crouch Valley Housing Association Ltd Government policies of privatising was set up by Rochford Council Chief housing, but now with spiralling house Executive, the Board was appointed by prices and a housing shortage they are him and the Director of Housing was worried about the loss of stock through going to run the Housing Association. right to buy. While transferred tenants In Gloucester and Torbay, existing keep their right to buy, new tenants and predatory housing associations tried to any new homes built do not have the right buy the housing stock. They wanted to to buy. buy the housing, so they could use tenants homes as security for private loans,which they could use to build more homes for sale or rent Waltham Forest Council have set up four private companies, with tenants representatives on them. They want to sell off four estates, which are in need of major structural repairs that the council cannot afford to do. This would mean the loss of 17% of the total council housing in the Borough. A voluntary transfer does not have to be to an approved landlord, so a new company like Quality Street. or a completely new association with no record of housing management can buy the stock. Council sell offs, or "voluntary transfers" as they are known take place under the Housing & Planning Act 1986.They have to have the permission of the Secretary of State for the Environment. The DOE issued regulations called "Large Scale Voluntary Transfers" in June 1988, and they also have rules about the price of the transfer, and the way in which the council can use the money. LABOUR SALE? But Waltham Forest is the first example of a Labour Council deciding to sell off tenanted homes, using the "voluntary transfer". Their argument is that they will not be able to get any money from the Government to do the repairs, and that after the new housing finance regulations are brought in,· tenants will have to pay much higher rents with no improvements in service. They argue that it is better to sell offthe estate and raise private money for repairs. The Tenants Federation has argued: • 1in 5 homes would have to be sold to revealed a 20 per cent cut. in owner occupiers. ~:~:~:~T~r~~r~~m~o~~~nf~~i aurhorities for next year. • Rent increases would be at least £15 Councils will be permitted to p.w. and probably more like £27p.w. borrow £873 million. about 75 per cent of current Jeveb. This • All other tenants would have to pay will be tOPped tip by a further an extra £ 10p.w. to finance the scheme. £47 million to be distributed through separate schemes coy. • There will be 3000 less homes, leading ering homes insulation, privaM sector renewals, and compensa. to added costs of Bed & Breakfast hotels tion payments for homes wiUl for the homeless, and longer waiting lists. designated structural defects. Mr David Trippier, the junior • No-one knows yet exactly what effects housing minister, argued tha in fact the amount should be the housing finance changes will have. higher if growing receipts from sales of council houses and • There is no guarantee that a private other assets were taken into company owning housing in such bad account. The Association of Metropoli. condition would be able to raise any loans tan Authoritjt>~ "l..,~__ ...... at all!

"A GENUINE soJution can only com.e about if tenants defeat the Govemments prl.vatisation plans and. force the Govemment into investing more m.oney in cotlllci1 hOllSing. TBERI IS NO OTHER WAY!" (Waltham Forest Fed Broad.slteet)

CAMPAIGNING AGAINST NOT IN YOUR INTERESTS • No more than 20% of the Board can be councillors or council Officers. The VOLUNTARY TRANSFERS So far not a single local council planning council cannot manage or maintain the Wherever tenants have understood the such a transfer has homes on behalf of the landlord real consequences and reasoning behind • consulted their tenants before paying • The council cannot nominate tenants. the voluntary transfer, and there has been consultants to do feasability studies. a local campaign against the transfer, • If the transfer leaves the council with tenants have won the Ballot: • given tenants all the information about no housing, they cannot keep a Waiting the implications for their tenancy. List or any measure of housing need in • Torbay - in a rigged ballot, only 787 the area. tenants voted for sell off to two local • offered any alternatives to sell off housing associations. 2210voted NO but • given access to independent advice • Although the council still have legal the 3329 who did not vote at all meant obligations for the homeless, they would that the combined vote of those "not Voluntary transfers do not 'defeat' the have to make a "contract" with the new opposed" was more thaft 50%. The DOE Housing Act - the terms of the transfers landlord to house the homeless. This is refused permission for the transfer on are determined by the Act and are the privatisation of homelessness. completely in line with Government that ballot result, and the Council decided Selling off all the council housing in an to drop the whole idea. policy. The effects on the tenants are the same as if a predatory landlord had area will have implications for the whole • Salisbury tenants had a 75% majority bought the estate - but they have community, not just the existing tenants. against Chequer HA. fewer rights to oppose it. Where will young people live in the future? What about people who want to • Arun tenants in co-operation with the They do not keep out private landlords. rent a home when their marriage breaks local NALGObranch won a 62% majority Housing associations are themselves up, or who need sheltered housing? against Arun Homes being turned into private landlords. Any new housing built will be for sale, • Rochford tenants voted 2224 to 180 There are no subsidies or grants for these against sell off. transfers, the new landlord has to borrow or let on high market rents - so how can to buy the estate and to do any major it be affordable to local people in housing • Three Rivers 75.5% tenants voted repairs. It would have to be "self need? against. financing" immediately. • In Chilterns, Sevenoaks and West Any new building will have to be on a JOB LOSS Berkshire there was no tenants commercial basis. So the new rents will One of the conditions of the transfer is campaign, and tenants voted for transfer. be very high. But since it is existing that council officers are not guaranteed Large numbers of councils have tenants who will have to foot the bill for jobs in the new housing association: they considered setting up a council the new building, their rents will have to will have discretion whether to employ sponsored housing association and go up too. you or not. The transfer will mean a loss decided it was not in tenants or in local • The DOE will only allow transfer if the of jobs for housing managers, caretakers, residents interests. new landlord is independent of the estate cleaning staff, grounds council. maintenance, the Direct Labour Organisation and wardens. It will also mean job losses in central support GLOUCESTER TENANTS FIGHT SALE services such as finance, personnel, legal, architects etc. The first Gloucester tenants heard about being sold offwas when they read it in the local paper .Gloucester Council were having secret discussions with North Housing Association Even if you do get a job, you will be which is based in Newcastle. working in effect for a privatised landlord, which will change the nature of The Gloucester Tenants Federation fought the Council plans. Their Petition had signatures your job. Depending on which housing of more than half the tenants. The local paper "Western Daily Press" did an opinion poll, association you work for it could mean showing 88% against and only 3% for. The plan was dropped after the Tories lost control performance related pay, loss of secure of the Council following a by-election at which the sell-off was the major issue job and promotion opportunities and How did Gloucester Tenants fight their campaign ? bigger differentials. And you will be outside national pay and conditions. • Contacting other tenants They went to meet other tenants groups fighting voluntary transfers - and learnt from Tenants reject them, shared information and expertise, used each others leaflets etc. Instead of a council sponsored trip to see North Housing tenants, they organised a trip 'housing switch with Newcastle Tenants Federation. When they came back they made an exhibition of photographs to show Gloucester tenants how bad North Housing is as a landlord. They joined the NO TO HATS demonstration at Ridley's house in Gloucestershire. AllIn Travl. f~~nfa~~xsh~~~r~~f6~r~~ "'Marttn w .... wrl.ht council land. The first successful transfer ENANTS in Salisbury. of a council's municipal hous· Wiltshire, yesterday over· ing took place last week in Chilo • Using the Press T whelmingly rejected tern, where the entire housing plans to transfer their 7,800 department is transferring to When the Council held a secret Press Conference, the tenants held an alternative one homes to a housing association the Chiltern Hundreds Housing on the same day, to counter the Council's version. Their best friends have been the local set up by council officials. Association. Tenants of the Conservative- . in Leeds~Counc. press - they have had lots of local coverage putting the tenants side, and exposing the

controlled council voted bv pioneering g .__ 0< 4.5.;.:..,.to 1.487 against "~ff ~te have ... . _ ... Council's lies. They have put on publicity events especially for the press to cover. council's e . ort r to, . • Challenging the Council's arguments The Council's leaflet promoting the sell off was sent to the Ombudsman because it was untrue. The Law Centre helped the tenants get barristers advice on promises being made TESTING THEIR CLAIMS by North Housing Association. The Federation have had good contacts within the Town Hall, and used them to expose All the councils promoting voluntary the lies, get information and get prior warning about events planned by the Council. transfers claim to be protecting their tenants. Either it is to "protect" their Estate meetings have been held to challenge the council information and consultation tenants from predatory landlords using exercise. Information from the tenants has undermined the Housing Departments the Housing Act to break up the stock. arguments. They issued a Newsletter for all tenants Or it is to "protect" their tenants from Federation members and activists have gone round to meet as many people as possible council rent increases following the - tenants groups, the press, community and voluntary organisations etc etc. Apart from Housing Finance changes. Or "there is the information you give out, it is important to because the Council will smear you, call no alternative" way of getting major you scaremongers, bullyboys, outsiders, rent a mob, rabble etc etc. They will say that it repairs done. Tenants will have to judge is not "real" tenants who are opposed. So you have to go round showing that you are just these claims for themselves! ordinary tenants who know what you are talking about. Tenants will need access to all the financial and legal information that they • Political pressure need to judge these transfers. Demand access to the consultants studies and all They have written to MPs and councillors locally and in the North East and Newcastle their calculations. But as it is the council where North HA has lots of houses who have been very supportive. When the tenants who has the facts, and is behind the went to Newcastle, they met the Chair of Housing and other councillors. transfer, it is often very difficult to get the They attended all Housing Committee Meetings, and organised protests. They made facts you need...... good use ofthe councillors accountability - went to their surgeries, wrote to them etc. Contact with the Unions or Councillors Don't let them say there is no altemative. They have demanded that the Council may get you Committee papers and consider all the different options. The Federation had to convince tenants that they background figures. The SCATINALGO could win against North HA, and that things can improve. Database may be able to help as the consultants often use the same financial models over and over again. • who are they borrowing their money • how many homeless people will they off, and which companies are they house? When you do get the papers, you may connected with? need help to make sense of the figures. • what will their allocations policy be? But they will tell you: • get advice about the level of inflation, interest rates and construction cost • how will they consult with tenants? • how they are calculating the price of figures. Waltham Forest assumed the sell off. Tenants should see the proposed inflation at 6% when it was already 8%. "Tenancy Agreement" • how they calculate the rents. That meant an extra £4p.w. rent increase. • How does it compare to your current • will your services be cut e.g. repairs, Tenants should ask about the policies of tenancy agreement? cleaning, gardens, housing advice. the new landlord: • What arrangments does it have for • will you be paying service charges? • Who are they and why do they want rent increases? to buy up your home? • are they relying on selling homes off, • How many successions does it offer? or land? • where does their money come from? • What arrangements does it make for • how much do they expect to spend • what is their record as a landlord? people who have problems paying rent on modernisation, and will rents go up to • what arrangements will they make for or who should be claiming housing pay for it? people now on the waiting list? benefit? WE'RE NOT FOR SALE Scat Publications 15 HOUSING (less!) .ACTION (no!) TRUSTS (never!) The NO TO BJlTS campaign was the rust victory of the Housing Act. The tenants forced the Government to allow a Ballot before a BAT was imposed. And now it looks as if they could defeat the whole idea of BATs as the Government planned them.

The NO TO BlITS CAMPAIGN The Government originally announced because there are excessive six areas where they were proposing concentrations of poor people living to set up HATs: Leeds, Sunderland, here. In other words they think we are Sandwell, Southwark, Tower Hamlets the problem" The Tenants View, by and Lambeth. Eighteen estates and HATTAG, the Tower Hamlets tenants 25,000tenants were affected. campaign. The announcement was greeted with The first six HATswere not on the worst outrage and determined opposition by estates, they were in areas where all the tenants group: the raids on the privatised housing would be saleable. In consultants' offices, meetings of a 1000 inner London with a shortage of land for Either at the end of the HAT or during tenants, demonstrations against building, taking over other peoples the HAT,a HAT can sell off homes, with Government ministers were homes is the only way to make space for only minimum consultation with the successful. yuppies. The HATestates were just down tenants. Tenants cannot veto a new the road from the Nissan factory in landlord, and would lose their secure When the consultants reports were tenancy. published, the Government announced Sunderland, and the new Birmingham that only nine estates would be Heartlands Urban Development A HATcan force you to move from'Your HATted.And the money available was Corporation in Sandwell. In both areas, home to another one either in or out of to be increased from £192m to £352m economic expansion needed private the HATarea, so they can demolish it or but spread over eight years. Tenants housing for the new workers. sell it to a developer. A HAT can are still confident that they can win Although the Government claimed the encourage a "pick a tenant" bid by an the ballots and defeat the HATs HATwould do up the homes for tenants, approved landlord, or a co-op. altogether. the consultants' documents showed the A HAT can hand over the day to. day true plans. management of the housing to another SOCIAL MIX body, and tenants do not have the right WHAT IS A HAT? of council tenants to veto that HATsare explained in detail below, but arrangement the background to their birth needs The Housing Act 1988 gives the explanation. Housing Action Trusts are Government the power to set up HATS When the improvements are finished, the as much about transforming inner city and hand over large areas of council HAT will be wound up. This could be areas, and 'social engineering' as they are housing - and the tenants who live in it between 5 and 10 years. The HAT will about privatising housing. - to Boards of appointed businessmen sell off all housing it still owns. Tenants will only be able to return to the council, They are modelled on the Urban and local worthies. The Housing Action Development Corporations, such as Trust's job is to do up the housing and if the council agrees and can afford to Docklands in London. Instead of the sell it offto private landlords, developers, buy the estate back. As the cost would Government spending money in inner housing associations or co-ops. come out of the council's HIPs money, cities to create jobs and build new homes, and the estate would be sold back to them A Board of between 7 and 13 at the market price, that seems unlikely. they try to attract private investors by businessmen, and housing management making the inner cities profitable . experts will be appointed by the DOE. Tenants will remain "secure tenants" Grants, cheap land, removing planning The Board need not include local people. while they are tenants of a HAT- but it restrictions on development, tax They will receive their orders from the will be like being the tenant of incentives etc guarantee big profits for DOEand they can be sacked by the DOE. Westminster City Council, where the developers. main aim is to sell off homes. The criteria for an area that a HAT will But this policy does not benefit local be set up in is: residents: they get driven out of their (a) the "balance" of owner occupiers ALL POWERFUL HAT homes and they do not get the new jobs. and tenants The HAT will have all the powers of a HATs campaigners only had to look at (b) the physical condition and design local council housing department, with Docklands to see what was in store for ofthe housing, and the need for repairs none of the accountability or them. and improvement responsibility. They will set the rents, act "The Government seems to believe that (c) the way in which the council on arrears, make lettings, evict or decant our communities are deprived and our manages its housing tenants,do repairs and be responsible for homes run down, not because they (d) the living and social conditions and all the housing managment and have chosen to starve us of cash - but general environment maintenance on the estate. Yet they will Scat Publications 16 WE'RE NOT FOR SALE have no obligations to house the picked your estate? Halton Moor tenants campaigning and discussions with the homeless or people on the waiting list in Leeds and the Tower Hamlets tenants DOE and Manchester City Council. produced Reports challenging every Rents will rise in line council rents. If argument that the Government and the BOW WILL A HAT WORK? improvements are needed, rents are Consultants were putting forward. frozen until they are completed, and will A HATwill not have enough government then go up too. 3. Expose how the HAT will work. How money to do all the work needed. So it much money will it have? How much is has to sell estates and land to raise HATs will take over all the buildings - needed to be spent on your estate? Which sufficient money, as well as increase tenants homes, empty blocks, community blocks or homes will they sell off? Who rents to pay for improvements. centres etc, plus any land, gardens or are the potential landlords? Howwill they estate roads. HATs will have extensive pay for all the improvements planned? A HAT will have an initial budget to do planning powers e.g. change of use, environmental and other improvements nature of new buildings, compulsory 4. "The money but not the HAT". If they in the area e.g. demolish walkways, purchase powers over any privately agree that your estate needs money spent improve roads access. They will decant owned homes or buildings in the HAT on it, then they should provide that tenants, and move them to different areas, highways and sewage powers ,and money. Don'tlet them threaten that unless homes in the HAT.They can then either any statutory controls over private you agree to the HAT you will get no sell their homes and use the money for landlords e.g overcrowding. HATs will money. improvements on other blocks, or do up have powers to set up employment 5. Work on altematives. HulmeTenants that estate and move tenants back in. projects, and let workshops for small fought off a HAT. They had a Charter of Modernised or repaired flats would be businesses. demands as a basis for all their re-let at much higher rents, either by the When a HATtakes over, then all the local HAT or by a new landlord on assured authorityworkers serving that area would lose their jobs. The Government specifically said that there are no guarantees that those workers will be taken on by the HAT.

LOSE REPAIRS RIGHTS Tenants of a HATare not covered by the Sll Housing Act 1985 repairing obligations, unlike council tenants. They only have the same rights to repairs as a "short-life"tenant. And the public health! environmental health powers on overcrowding etc. are in the hands of the HATBoard. As a HATcould last for ten years, tenants could end up living in terrible conditions, with no legal rights to repair.

SETTING UP A HAT The Secretary of State for the Environment must consult with the Councilbefore "designating" a HATarea. The tenants will be balloted using the 'normal' method, i.e. the result depends on a simple majority of those voting. If a majority vote for a HAT, then all the homes in the HATarea 'are handed over. This is not the same as a 'Pick a tenant' ballot when those that vote NO can stay with the council,or where those that don't vote count as YES votes. A HATmust publish and consult over its proposals for the area and consider any comments made. It must get DOE approval of its plans. The HAT has to hold its meetings in public just like a Council, but is not covered by the Access to Information Act. They will also be able to have confidential parts of the Agenda.

NO TO BATS 1. Fight them from the beginning. There has to be a Ballot of tenants, and so they need to convince you and your neighbours. 2. Challenge them on the reasons for picking your estate. Why have they Brixton tenants organise against HATS Philip Wolmuth • tenancies. New people will be encouraged to move into the area, buying 'CONSULTANTS CJl.A.S£D OFF homes or on high rent basis. Right to buy will be encouraged. iThe DOE employed consultants to study the six HAT areas. The HAT would financially "succeed" by • tenants chased them off the estates and out of their meetings. getting back its initial investment, by i. raided their offices to "tell them their views on HATs". selling the improved properties on to new acquired copies of the documents submitted by one fum of consultants, and landlords or back to the council, and from I. increased income from right to buy sales. 1exposed their lack of independence. i.found the consultants were clearlY'ifnot happy to be risking so much bad CASH WITH STRINGS Ipublicity. The Government is not willing to put up ',. one of the consultants employed MORI polls to find out tenants views: they enough money to really improve the offered £10 to tenants to co~operate. But tenants picketed the meetings and got housing for the local residents. The /press coverage for the bribery tactics. Tower Hamlets consultants' report said that the HAT would only work if it had ~Their reports confess that they had virtually no contact with and no information either, more land to build 1000+ homes Ifrom tenants. They all recommend that the HATs will not succeed unless tenants on, or access to low rent housing,and "can be persuaded to "get involved". Tenants on the estates still being HATted £201mto spend. They identified the major are now under pressure to co-operate with the HAT and the consultants and problem as overcrowding and a help draw up plans that tenants will vote for in the Ballots. desperate shortage of low rent housing. The Government was not prepared to come up with enough money, nor was it willing to provide land: Docklands had GOVERNMENT StJFFERS taken over most of the available land in ,The Government had a bad time too: Tower Hamlets for private homes and I_ Government Ministers visited estates secretly and were met with angry offices. idemonstrations . • The tenants' campaign defeated the HAT, Government Ministers were invited to meetings of tenants. InTower Hamlets but that is only the beginning. The Tower !. Hamlets tenants report says "... we do lover 1000 tenants turned up and gave David Trippier a very rough time. not believe that a HAT will provide a I_ Lambeth tenants stormed out of a meeting with Nicholas Ridley because they solution to the problems that we face . . !were not being listened to. . But that does not mean we are willing to be simply forgotten . . .n They _ Tenants demonstrated outside the DOE offices, and handed in petitions. demanded that the DOE give the local Tenants visited the Tory Party Conference and held a Press Conference council and the tenants the money I_ needed. "It will then be possible for the ~. Tenants visited Ridley's home in rural Gloucestershire to declare it a HAT. tenants in partnership with the Council ILuckily it's not a rigged ballot for a HAT so the fact that he was not ther~ to and the DOEto plan for the improvements Ivote did not go against him.! to our homes that we need."

FIGHT NOW WITH THE TENANTS ASSOCIATIONS - -=- lill Scat Publications 18 WE'RE NOT FOR SALE BATS - A STRATEGY

This strategy is based on one drawn up at the Tenants training Weekend on HATS in April 1988- i.e. before the first six were announced and before the Ballot was won, with lessons from the HATs campaigns so far. The Government is still changing the rules, so this strategy has to be changing all the time too!

"Pre Designation" i.e. before the DOE decides which areas to HAT. OFFlCI.I.L ACTION' DOE consider designation - appoints consultants Campaign against DOEiMinisterl Consultant's job to Try Direct action and confrontation! (i) provide evidence that HAT legally justified within Boycott and CamPaicm aqalnst consultants Housing Act definiti Expose Cli) that HAT will be Prepare Alternative Plans (ill) that problems"ln HAT area will be solved by HAT Campaign for CoUl"tCilopposition/refusal to co-operate. Union support and boycott 1. Iiink up with other HAT weas and the NO TO HATS Group

DOE decide to go ahead. Amend previous plans/effects Precise area of HAT defined Boycott consultants Consultants brought in to draw up plans that tenants Information to tenants about HAT DOWers, finances etc. will vote for do Organise non co--operation by potential landlords. etc

2. Prevent local council dOing deals behind your baek

&allot Organise to canvass every tenant to vote NO (see section Simple majority ballot Make sure all those with no right to vote, write in 3. with objections

.out etc ho' tenants inter. Vote are kept to.

Legal Process Declaration by the Secretary of State under the Housing Act 1988 House of Commons Debate on the Designation Order

Formal consultation with Council Secretary of g. • Chair of Trust • Chief Executive o make • Board Members - business the HAT I. s.

The HAT Board meets like a Coun

A definition of a free market in rented housing: the landlord is free to ask as much rent as he likes and you are free to flnd somewhere else to live. The Government is ideologically opposed to council housing. They think that housing should be provided by "the market" like washing machines or tins of beans. Butthere are virtually no private landlords. So not only does the Government want to "privatise" council housing and housing associations. They also have to revive the private landlord, and create the market! They want to create a new sort of private landlord. They want big institutional investors such as building societies and pension funds not just to lend money to approved landlords, they also want them to become directly involved in being landlords - often in joint schemes with housing associations - and bring their business values with them. The Government argues that large numbers of the 550,000empty privately owned homes will be let once landlords can use an assured, or assured shorthold tenancy, with market rents and reduced security of tenure. But the fact is that for landlords to make as much profit as they could by investing their money in shares, or even just leaving it in a building society, they will be demanding rents far higher than anything tenants can afford. The Housing Act will mean fewer homes to rent, and untold misery for many thousands of homeless people.

DO PRIVATE LANDLORDS WANT COUNCIL ESTATES? Even the Government does not expect many tenants to willingly choose private landlords. And the Approval Procedure is supposed to keep out bad landlords. So far very few private landlords have shown any interest in buying up estates. But don't be complacent - there is lots of money to be made out of buying and selling estates. Developers and institutional invE'lstors such as building societies may apply to be approved landlords to enable them to buy up council property that can be sold offin a few years. They will offer all sorts of "deals you cannot refuse" to encourage you to opt out now. They will tell you they are socially responsible. But they are in it for profit just like Rachman. And in a few years time, when they decide to behave like a speculator, only a Government Minister will be able to stop them! Lobbying Parliament 1988 Philip Wolmuth WE'RE NOT FOR SALE Scat Publications 21

WHO WAS RACHMAN? Peter Rachman was a property speculator in the 1950's.When the Tory MPs voice Rachmanism Government "de-controlled" private renting, Rachman and many others bought up rented property, especially in fears over BES shake-up London. They then proceeded to harass The exemption is in sharp eon· proach an approved fund. than and "winkleout"the tenants so they could A RADICAL shake-up in the RENTED HOUSING I,asl to previoUSBES ch~nge,. seck funds direGlasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee, They may be your friendly High Street Liverpool and Newcastle and 1% in building society. Whatever they say, London. they are a Private Landlord and you Quality Street sees council housing as will be a private Assured Tenant. their main source, through "pick a It will be crucial to your campaign to landlord" schemes. They also bid for know exactly who the new landlord is Torbay's housing, under a "voluntary and what they intend. Use the SCAT transfer" scheme. NALGO Database. Contact other They claim to work in partnership with tenants groups who have chased them councils rather than take over their off. properties without their consent. Butthey make no promises to ask tenants! pmVATELANDLORDS- Quality Street will charge "market rents", OUT OF CONTROL and they admit that tenants who cannot Many council tenants have been private afford those rents will be evicted. Tim tenants at some stage of their lives. They Melville Ross, Nationwide Anglia's Chief Executive has said that "Weare in it to remember what it was like. This Act removes what little security and make a profit. We don't intend to embark protection private tenants had won over on a scheme unless we can be sure that the years. This is called "deregulation" we can get a going rate of return and that or "de-control" and is supposed to be subsidies are forthcoming". better for tenants! It means the end of fair rents set by the Rent Officer. A protected private tenant can only be legally evicted for specific reasons. Now, a landlord will find it much easier to get rid of the tenants when he wants to sell the building for profit, or charge a hig'her rent. The Government admits that all the ways that landlords had to get round the law will no longer be needed - they will be the law! If you are a private tenant already: Do not move and do not sign anything without getting legal advice. QUALITY STREET This private company was set up specifically to take advantage of the Housing Act 1988by Nationwide Anglia Building Society with £600m investment and Paul Mugnaioni, the ex Director of Housingin Glasgow,as the first Managing Director. The Company, which describes itself as a "new dimension in rented housing" has £600m to spend over five years. They want to be a "major force in the new UK market in rented housing by providing quality home with a profesional back up service for all levels of that market,from Scat Publications 22 WE'RE NOT FOR SALE

COAL BOARD DISASTER :ASSURED & ASSURED SHORTHOLD TENANCIES A number of recently privatised industries have sold off their homes - ASSURED SRORTBOLD such as the NHS, British Rail and British Coal. The British Coal sales were Transferred council tenants cannot be given shorthold tenancies. The tenancies are for investigated by Shelter in their report Pits a flXed period at the end of which you can be evicted with no reason. There is no limit & Mortar which found "a consistent on the rent levels. If you are offered a Shorthold tenancy, get advice. pattern of disrepair, dereliction and demoralisation" and concluded: "it's not ASSURED TENANCIES the Rachmanism of serious physical intimidation but one of slow relentless Who will. be Assured Tenants? exploitation" . • All council tenants who have transferred to a neW landlord whether you "opted out" The report featured eight estates in or were sold by the council or a HAT. Staffordshire, Derbyshire and Yorkshire All new Housing Association tenants which had been auctioned off by the Coal Most new private tenants. Board. They were bought up by a variety of speculative companies. Since then the The law defmes three elements of an assured tenancy: tenants - many elderly and retired no rent control miners - have struggled to find out who their landlords are and to get repairs less security of tenure carried out. one right of succession only, to a spOuse or cohabitee only The problems faced by tenants include: Most other terms of an assured tenancy will be based on a "contract" between the landlord • no repairs carried out - and tenants and tenant and can include as much or as little as the bargaining can achieve. told to arrange their own. No improvements such as rewiring or RENT maintenance work done. I Private landlords will be free to charge as much rent as the "market" will bear - i.e. as • no emergency repairs service, no much as people are prepared to pay. There are no limits on how high a rent can be. local office etc. Approved Landlords will charge cost rents i.e. which cover all their costs including • huge difficulties in even finding out tepaying commercial loans. They should be "less than market rent". But there are no their landlord - often they are miles criteria for these "affordable rents". Any new landlords first priority will be to remain away and do not reply to letters, change financially viable and attract future investment. And that means tenants needs come their names or hide behind different tecond. company names. rhere is no application to the Rent Officer to set a.fair rent. The only limit will be imposed • profiteering: rapid rent increases and by the Housing Benefit system refusing to pay What they consider to be too high rents. the houses sold off to other owners for a fhe Rent Assessment Committee can in some circumstances be called in to set the quick profit. tnarket rent. But these are not all local cowboy fIrms. The landlord can also demand service charges for such services as lift maintenance, Famous names are also involved: Sir estate cleaning, gardening etc which a council tenant pays for in the rent. These charges Laurie Barratt owned half the shares of are not paid for by Housing Benefit, and have to be paid out of the rest of your benefit. Southvale Properties who bought up But you Can be evicted for not paying them. houses in the Wakefield area. Tom Baron, also involved in setting up Stockbridge SECURITY Village (see section 14), ex Chairman of Salvesen Properties and government The changes in security are very serious. There are much wider grounds for possession advisor on privatisation owned 180 than apply to a secure council tenant. There are eight mandatory ,grounds i.e. where houses in 3 areas. the Court has no choice but to give possession if the facts are proved. Mandatory grounds include: • there are more than three months of arrears at the date of the court hearing and at the time a Notice of Proceedings for Possession is served. PITS & • the landlord has defaulted on the mortgage or loan repayments, and the property is being re-possessed. MOR~ • if the landlord owned the property before the tenancy began, and intends to redevelop or demolish the building, (this does not therefore apply to transferred council tenants, CASH'NG'N~ but it does apply to new tenancies in transferred council property). j ON COAL -~£;;j There are eight discretionary grounds i.e. where the Court can decide whether or not HOMES to give possession even if the facts are proved. These include: • any amount of rent arrears (i.e. less than the 13 weeks needed for mandatory possession). • persistent delay in paying rent, even ifthere are no arrears at the time of the hearing. ,. suitable alternative accomodation is available to the tenant. • breach of tenancy agreement e.g. paying service charges. Assured tenants will still have to go to court to be evicted but the tenant may have only two w$ks notice of the hearing, for some of these grounds of possession. EVICTION BY POVERTY As important as the much harsher grounds for possession are the combined effects of much higher rents. Cuts in Housing Benefit, and the "commercial" attitudes of the new WE'RE NOT FOR SALE Scat Publications 23

I The conditions under private landlords landlords who need to balance the books. This will lead to increased evictions and have been so bad that already one homelessness . estate has been demolished, one purchased by the tenants in frustration and another estate is currently trying SUCCESSION to get someone to buyout private Succession refers to the right to pass on·your tenancy. An assured tenant only has one landlords! right to succession, and that is only to a spouse (including common law spouse). Council tenants currently can leave their tenancy to a son or daughter who lives with them. And many councils have extended the right of succession to other members of the tenants household, and allowed more than one succession. LONGPORT FLATS IN STOKE ON TRENT REPAIRS In 1981,Wren Properties - a large Assured tenants are still covered by the legal rniminum of Ss 11-16 of 1985 Landlord & Manchester private landlord then called Tenant Act (as you are as a council tenant). You will have no rights to modernisation, Brightaflats - bought 42 empty flats from environmental improvements, install central heating etc. And any modernisation and Stoke on Trent Council. The tenants had major repairs will almost certainly mean higher rents which you may not be able to afford. campaigned to be rehoused because of the conditions. Wren paid just £55,000for RIGHTTOBUY the flats, spent a further £100,000 on smartening up the block but decided that Assured tenants do not have the right to buy, unless they are a transferred council tenant any real improvements to the flats would whose right to buy is preserved. be 'uneconomic'. They let them on "shorthold tenancies" RIGHTS at rents that are often double the local An assured tenant loses many legal rights:- authority level,and are put up every two years. A Notice to Quit is served after • the right to assign,exchange or sublet their tenancy. two reminders to anyone who gets • the right to take in lodgers. behind with their rent. Tenants have to pay a deposit of £150 and Wren will not • the right to information and consultati()U with the landlord. let to anyone who is unemployed or has • the right to make improvements to their home. children over two years old. They say it is up the local authority to continue to • the right to do minor repairs and re-charge the landlord. accommodate such disadvantaged • the right to information on allocations policieS; applicants. • the right of your children or other relatives to inherit the tenancy. The Department of the Environment has promoted the scheme as a "good THE TENANCY .aGREEMENt practice". Instead of being covered by the 1980 Act Tenants Charter Rights, assured tenants will, Wren Properties made an unsuccessful have a "contractual tenancy" and a.written tenancy agreement with your landlord which bid for the Colshaw Farm Estate in may promise you some or all of these rightS. However, they will not be legal rights and Wilmslow Cheshire, an overspill estate it will be very difficult and expensive to enforce the contract terms. managed by Manchester City Council. The first the Tenants Association or Some landlords are saying that they will not.use the "mandatory"ground for possession Manchester Council knew about the bid for three months rent arrears. But even the Department of the Envirionment agrees, if was from newspaper reports. The firm the landlord broke that promise neither the tenant nor the Court could do anything about had already been round talking to it, and the tenant would be evicted. individual tenants, claiming they would To enforce the. Tenancy agreement terms, you would have to sue for breach of contract. improve management and do repairs in But you will have to prove that you have suffered loss and YOll may only get financial 48 hours. At tenants meetings they were compensation. Which if you have lost your home is of little use. There are also verY booed and chased off the estate. serious problems in getting legal aid for such a challenge. CHANGES IN THE CONTRACT OR TENANCY AGREEMENT ASSURED TENANCIES Transferred council tenants will be· periodic assured tenants, which means that changes. The new assured tenancy is the basis of in the contract have to be agreed between the tenant and the landlord. However, the the whole policy of privatising council landlord is free to negotiate different agreements or different levels of service and repairs housing. To move from public investment with individual tenants, for different rent levels. to private investment in rented housing, they had to make it profitable. Even if the new landlord is offering a tenancy agreement that is the same as you have now, think carefully. That agreement can be changed in the future - it is not law.This Part I of the the Housing Act 1988creates is a "one way ticket". And if the housing association got a new committee, or the' two new private tenancies: Government changed the IUles again, assured tenants have no legal protection.. • Assured tenancy LONG TERM DIFFERENCE • Assured shorthold tenancy Landlords will now be able to charge as Councils and the Government are claiming that there i$ no real difference between much rent as they like. And housing an assured and secure tenancy. That you have the same ''long term secu:rity ofl associations who are forced to borrow tenure". Do you think this i$ true? private finance will be able to charge An assured tenancy means a serious loss of rights and a significant loss of long term high enough rents to repay those loans. security. No tenant should give up a secure tenancy without really thinking about' Reduced security of tenure means that the implications. tenants who do not pay the rent can be (Tenants who became assured tenants of an approved landlord, via a "Pick a tenant" bid under the evicted or moved out into cheaper 1988Housing Act also have some additional ways of enforcing their rights, via the Housing Corporation. premises, and the flat relet at a higher rent. Scat Publications 24 WE'RE NOT FOR SALE HOUSING .ASSOCIATIONS FRIEND OR FOE?

Housing associations are now the government's favoured providers GOODBYE FAIR RENTS of "social" housing. The Govemment want them to take over large Housing association rents used to be fair amounts of council housing - either by sales from councils, H.ATs rents set by the Rent Officer. Now they will be market rents, and the rent levels or development corporations, or by tenants "opting out". will depend on what kind of deals different associations can do with private But the Housing Act will effectively transform housing associations finance, with the Housing Corporation from public sector landlords to what is virtually a private landlord. and with the Government. This will be achieved by cuts in housing associations are monitored by Housing Association Grant (HAG)the key government grants and forcing them to the Housing Corporation, whether they subsidy for housing associations has rely on private finance which means are "approved" or not. been turned upside down. Before the higher r~nts and l~ss.of rights. Mor~over A" 1 t transfer" is usually to an Housing Act, when housing associations all hOUSIngassociation tenants will be . v.oun ary .. . d t t lik th . t eXIstIngpredatory hOUSIngasSOCiationor built or improved homes they worked out ~sur~ enan s, e any 0 er pnva e a bogus one set up by the council. It does what the fair rent would be, and then got enan . not have to be approved but it is (usually) HAG to cover the rest of the costs. Now registered. the housing association will only receive PLEASING INVESTORS a flXedamount of grant - an average of At the moment all HAtenants are "secure 75%across the country, but which could Housing associations are not profit tenants". Existing HAtenants will remain be a higher percentage in London - and making organisations. But from now on secure tenants so long as they stay in the all other costs, including expensive they will have to rely on commercial loans from profit-making private financiers. That means they will have to run their housing in a way that is acceptable to the investors and not in the interests of tenants and those in housing need. The Government can always cut back on the grants, or impose new conditions. They have already said they will "create new incentives to associations to deliver their services in the most cost effective way,bringing to bear the disciplines of the private sector" i.e. they willforce HAs to manag~ their housing as cheaply as possible, and to increase rents inline with the new council rents. After the Housing Act "housing associations will become indistinguish- able in law from profit making private landlords" - National Federation of Housing Associations. Housing associations used to be seen as part of the public sector. They got Government money - called Housing Association Grant or HAG - via the Housing Corporation to build rented homes. Often they specialised in building for groups that local authorities did not cater for e.g. the elderly, single people, people with special housing needs. They charged fair rents and their tenants had Westminster tenants after surprise visit to PM! Philip Wolmuth the same secure tenancy as council tenants. same house, exchange homes (with private .loans, will have to paid for with permission) with another secure HA much higher rents. HA TAKE OVER? tenant, or get a transfer to a new home Housing associations used to get revenue within the same HA. A transfer to a grants to pay for management and Housing associations that take over different HA means a neyv assured maintenance expenses, and major estates, after a Part N transfer have to tenancy. All new housing assc:>ciation repairs that exceeded the income from be approved landlords. All registered tenancies will be assured tenanCies the fair rents. They will no longer get WE'RE NOT FOR SALE Scat Publications 25

these revenue grants to bail themselves to the small and friendly. Not only do FINDING OUT ABOUT HAs out; tenants will have to pay. housing associations differ enormoUSly First fmd out exactly what kind of Existing tenants will remain on fair rents, amongst themselves but it also depends on what your other options are. organisation is after your est~te. Several but the increases will no longer be large housing associations have set up phased. They are likely to drift upwards Where landlords - such as British Coal private comparnes with the same name. until they match 'market' rents. Old and or the NHS - are determined to sell, And some private companies call new tenants in the same building will find housing associations have stepped in to themselves a Housing Association. themselves paying quite different rents. buy the properties. Local authorities no longer have the money to do that. Most • Non Registered: they get their money NO EXTRA CONTROL housing associations will be better from private (sometimes charitable landlords than most private landlords. If sources) and have no government OR REPAIRS you feel that your landlord is determined financial control. Housing associations are run by a self- to sell you off, then a good local housing • Charitable HAs: registered with the selecting committee. Almost no HAs have association who will meet your demands Charities Commission and have to follow any tenant representation on their may be worth 'investigating. However strict rules. Their tenants have no Management body; their tenants have no many tenants will find that a HA is trying automatic Right to Buy more legal rights to be consulted than to take over their estate against' their council tenants. Transferring to a housing wishes, either through "pick a tenant" or • Registered with the Housing association will not necessarily give you through voluntary transfer. The National Corporation: they get their money from more control over your housing - it may Federation of Housing Associations has the Government via the Housing give you less. And you cannot use the a policy against it. Although they cannot Corporation which monitors their threat to vote them out! force their members to obey it, they can activities bring pressure to bear, and can put them A community based housing association out of the Federation. promoted by the Housing Corporation INVESTIGATING A will have tenants representatives on it, Key questions to ask include: HOUSING ASSOCIATION but not necessarily a majority. • Why are you considering transferring The Housing Corporation publish a There are no grants to HAs (or anyone to a HA? Is it because the council is Directory of Registered Housing Assns, else) to buy up and repair council estates. determined to sell and a HA is better than which has fairly minimal details. (from Repairs and modernisation for new and a private company? Housing Corporation. 149 Tottenham Court Rd W.1. 387 9466 , or your local existing housing association homes will • Has a HA put in an offer for your estate be with private money. Existing HA - if so who are they, and why do they office.; Price £11.50) They will also tenants may have to pay higher rents to want it? provide details of Approved landlords. pay for taking over council estates. Technically they have to publish • Are you thinking of opting out because Council tenants transferring to an Accounts and Annual Report and send you think a HA will be a better landlord? association in the hopes of modernisation them to the Registry of Friendly Societies. should find out how much it is going to For tenants in these situations, the The accounts are drawn up to legal cost! decision is different, but you need to have requirements and may not be very useful the same kind of information to make the or comprehensible for tenants. However ALLOCATIONS AND right decision they do include the names and addresses MANAGEMENT and occupations of committee members, and the overall budget. Some HAs have agreed allocation policies in line with local housing need, You can inspect the records of a HA or in return for public subsidy - this has NFHA seeks strong links get a photocopy: contact the Registry at opened up HAs to homeless people and 15 Gt Marlborough st W.1. 014379992. It council tenants on the transfer list. Many with councils on transfers costs £2.50 to look at the file plus HAs are worried that private finance and HOusing aSSOCiations • enough resources avail- photocopying fee. You can also get should only become in- able to secure the long term copies of similar documents sent to you higher rents will mean that they have to volved in bids under future of the deal. from the Housing Corporation. It costs change theg character, and will no longer tenants' chOice at the invita- HOusing Associations wiJi be able to provide for those in need. tion of tenants, the National still be able to let the Hous- £3.00 for the first 10 copies & 20p a copy Federation of HOusing ing Corporation know of after that. Contact the Registry section. HAs Associations said this week. their .willingness to take on All registered (Le. not all HAs and In a statement iSSued a{- Council hOUSing, says the not all approved landlords) will have to National Federation of Housing ler diSCUSsions with the statement, but they 'will not Associations (175 Grays Inn Rd, WCl 01 follow the "Guidance on Housing ASSOCiation of District wish to involve themselvl's Councils and ASSOCiation of in tenants' choice or other Management Practice" issued by the r 278 6571) represents the interests of Met opolitnc/usion. says the local council with details of their as a small and low-rent landlord. The nisalion's SUPpOrl. These NFHA, 'ASSOciations should consultation arrangements. They must Government is putting a lot of pressure arc respond to tenants' jnitia- issue tenants with a tenancy agreement. on HAs to amalgamate into big landlords, • a yes vote from a majority tives but not seek indepen_ of those eligible in a ballol; dent/y to secure the transfer If you can get hold of these documents to cut repairs and management costs, and • no OPposition to transfer of local authority eSlates.' they will give you some information about to behave like private companies. (rom the local authority; the HA. Although a local council has no There is no such thing as a typical HA. direct control over these policies, they They range from the big and bureaucratic can apply pressure. Scat Publications 26 WE'RENOT FOR SALE

The best source of information about a HA is its tenants! The Council should be NORTH ROUSING PLC DIRTY DEAL IN DOVER able to tell you which estateslbuildings Housing associsations have recently The homes of 130 tenants on the St are owned by a HA. There is no central been allowed to raise money in the Radigund Estate in Dover will be sold information about TAs, but local off to a housing association in spite community projects or a tenants City on the security of the value of federation should be able to put you in the property they own. They can use of tenants opposition. The Council is touch. If there is no TA, then try going to these loans to buy up council estates, determined to sell the estate, and an estate they own and just knock on the improve the homes they already own tenants who oppose it will be doors and look around. "or build for sale or rent, as a compulsorily transferred to another The advantages of a HA will depend on speculative venture. property, using their powers to evict under the 1986 Housing & Planning the particular association: North Housing Association is a good Act. • who controls it, who is on the example of an empire building outfit. committee and why? The sale was proposed by • what kind of record do they have as • They have raised £loom in the consultants, Thomson McLintock. a landlord? City to build between 2000 and 3000 Tenants who go to the new landlord homes to be let under assured will be assured tenants. Urgently • is there any money for repairs? tenancies. The loan is based on one needed repairs are estimated to cost • what rent level are they proposing? of the biggest housing stocks in the £25,000 per house, which would • what about transfers - do they have country, plus some speculative land mean rent increases of £25+ a week, a big stock? deals. let alone the costs to the housing • what kind of management style do • They approached councils all association of buying theestatii! and they have - do they have a local office over the south of England - managfngthe estate. or will they be miles away? especially in high priced areas • do they have their own repairs team, around the M25 and in the Green Belt FAKE BOUSING or do they rely on local builders? What - to take over their council houses. is the quality of the work? ASSOCIATION • What exactly can they offer your • They tried to buy all of Coal Board tenants forced the estate? Why are they better than staying Gloucester's housing stock. This Lancaster Housing Association to with the council? would have given them a substantial withdraw from buying 1400 houses. • what plans do they have for any open Iasset base in the south-east where It was really a private company and space or community facilities on the II house and land prices are rising was not registered with the Housing estate? (Sometimes they are sold off.) fast, which could have been used as Corporation. The tenants had already • what are their finances like? Do they security for private loans found a consortium of 4 genuine have big debts to payoff? ~,. They are negotia.ting with h()using associations to act as socially Walterton & Elgin Action Group invaded Rochford Council to buy up vacant responsible landlords, but the Coal the AGMs of two housing associations ,.homes,even though the tenants had Board had rejected their bid. asked by Westminster Council to take overwhelmingly voted against the Lancaster HA withdrew because over their estate and persuaded them to "they were concerned at the tenants withdraw. "v()luntary transfer" of the whole stock. opposition", (PSA 33) NEIGHBOURHOOD HOUSING ASSOCIATIONS A Neighbourhood HousingAssociation is an option for tenants who want to "opt out" from the council, but do not want a private landlord or a co-op. A Neighbourhood Housing Association can be set up and controlled by the tenants on the estate but unlike a co-op it can also include owner occupiers and other residents in the area. It has to be approved by the Housing Corporation (or by the DOE if its a Council transfer) and often will have be 'under the wing' of an existing housing association, who can show the expertise and skills required to get "approval". It has all the disadvantages ofany transfer to a housing association (or any private landlord body): i.e. private finance, high costs, assured tenancies etc. The benefits will depend on what you can negotiate with the council selling the estate, and availability of private finance. The Housing Corporation Tenants Transfer Officers are very keen on sales to Neighbourhood HAs, so get independent advice! Talk to other tenants who have considered this option. WE'RENOT FOR SALE Scat Publications 27 HOUSING CO-OPS .A REAL ANSWER?

Many tenants already feel they could run their estate better than There are about 600co-ops housing about any housing department, and the thought of a private landlord taking 30,000people. They range from 3 homes over will be enough to send many tenants groups investigating what to 250 homes: which is very small is involved in a co-op. The Tories have suddenly become very compared to most council estates. And hardly the answer for 4 million council enthusiastic about co-ops. Is this because co-ops are going to provide tenants. affordable rents and good quality housing? 50are co-ops a real answer What about those tenants that do not want or a cop-out? to be in a co-op? Can they move off the A housing co-op is a group of people Only set up a co-op if all the tenants estate? Do they want to? Most co-ops who collectively manage their homes. positively want to take on running their have been set up with new tenants who There are two sorts of co-ops - estate. Not just to rescue yourselves! A chose to join a co-op, rather than converting an existing estate. A "rigged" • An ownership co-op: the co-op owns management co-op willnot save you from a predatory landlord - although the ballot is not a good basis on which to set the buildings, and the tenants manage up a co-op. them collectively tenants of a management co-op have to balloted seperately from other tenants . •A tenants management co-op: the And the your council can stillsell you off. TENANTS RIGHTS TO BE A council or housing association continues to own the estate, and the tenants take If you have enough support to set up a CO-OP? on managing the estate and day to day co-op, you can win a ballot. A Tenants have no right to be a repairs. management co-op will not bring in management co-op. It has to be agreed money for major repairs or between the council and the tenants. There are several important differences modernisation: that will stillhave to come between these two sorts of co-ops. Section 10 Housing & Planning Act 1986, from council spending. An ownership co- only gives tenants the right to request the Whatever sort of co-op you are, decisions op will get no council or government council to consider setting up a about the estate will be taken by all co-op money. If you need modernisation then management co-op. The council has to members at general meetings and by an the co-op would have to borrow and respond within 6 months, either agreeing elected committee. The co-op has to be repay the loan out of higher rents. to the idea or giving reasons for rejecting legally constituted with certain basic the proposal. rules. It can take at least three years to WHAT WILL IT INVOLVE get going and you will need expert Part IV of the 1988Housing Act gives advice on the finances and legal Co-ops work best ifeveryone is involved tenants the right to "opt-out" into a arrangements. and participates in running the estate. transferred ownership co-op, whether That means meetings and responsibility. your landlord likes it or not, providing Often co-op members have to get the Housing Corporation give their WHY cO-OPS? involved in doing some of the repairs and approval. You can either opt into a co-op Many tenants will investigate setting up management tasks of the estate. Think set up just for your estate, or into an a co-op and will decide it is not about whether you want to put a lot of already existing co-op. appropriate or desirable on their estate, time into a co-op and take on and does not solve their problems. For responsibility for you and your some, an ownership co-op willbe a better neighbours' homes? option than a private landlord. For others, a management co-op may be the way to get some control over their estate. The Government talks a lot about co-ops. But they are not putting any money into making them work. After years of tenants demanding more say in the way their homes were designed and run, and the Government and councils ignoring them - suddenly co-ops are all the rage. Tenants have to ask themselves why! The Governments wants to dismantle council housing. Transferred ownership co-ops (TOCs) are private bodies and have to rely on private finance - they are a form of privatisation. Tenants want co-ops for a number of reasons: they get control of their estate, it becomes a closer community, tenants can learn skills and the co-op can create jobs and tackle some of the social problems on the estate. WE'RE NOT FOR SALE Scat Publications 21

WHO WAS HACHMAN? Peter Rachman was a property speculator in the 1950's.When the Tory MPs voice Rachmanism. . Government "de-controlled" private renting, Rachman and many others bought up rented property, especially in fears over BES shake-up London. They then proceeded to harass The exemption is in sharp con· proach an approved fund. thun and "winkleout"the tenants so they could A RADICAL shake·up in Ihe RENTED HOUSING Ira" 10 previous liES ch~ng~s. ~ek funds directly from ,the pub-- ...... _] These have $Ct out to Tdtru:t tn~ tll' fl. ...,,· ..... Business Expansion Scheme. de- [ sell the houses empty to owner signed 10 boost private-sector occupiers, starting the gentrification of . . . produced unease ~sand a warning Waldegrave. Ihe Minister fc' working class communities. Taking over 'ont bench that it Housing. had bee. trying . achieve in the Bitt. ·'It dOt'~ council estates will complete that to ". new ..-., . process. Beware - when a private landlord social housing to luxury executive flats". approaches your estate. Find out exactly who they are. They may be the Itplans to have up to 40,000rented homes private company arm of a housing making it one of the biggest private association. They may be a private landlords in the country. By 1992 they property company just using a housing want to control around 5% of the rented association as a management agent. market in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee, They may be your friendly High Street Liverpool and Newcastle and 1% in building society. Whatever they say, London. they are a Private Landlord and you Quality Street sees council housing as will be a private Assured Tenant. their main source, through "pick a It will be crucial to your campaign to landlord" schemes. They also bid for know exactly who the new landlord is Torbay's housing, under a "voluntary and what they intend. Use the SCAT transfer" scheme. NALGO Database. Contact other They claim to work in partnership with tenants groups who have chased them councils rather than take over their off. properties without their consent. Butthey make no promises to ask tenants! PRIVATE LANDLORDS - Quality Street will charge "market rents", OUT OF CONTROL and they admit that tenants who cannot Many council tenants have been private afford those rents will be evicted. Tim Melville Ross, Nationwide Anglia's Chief tenants at some stage of their lives. They Executive has said that "Weare in it to remember what it was like. This Act make a profit. We don't intend to embark removes what little security and protection private tenants had won over on a scheme unless we can be sure that the years. This is called "deregulation" we can get a going rate of return and that or "de-control" and is supposed to be subsidies are forthcoming". better for tenants! It means the end of fair rents set by the Rent Officer. A protected private tenant can only be legally evicted for specific reasons. Na..w,alandlord will find it much easier to get rid of the tenants when he wants to sell the building for profit, or charge a higher rent. The Government admits that all the ways that landlords had to get round the law will no longer be needed - they will be the law! If you are a private tenant already: Do not move and do not sign anything without getting legal advice. QUALITY STREET This private company was set up specifically to take advantage of the Housing Act 1988by Nationwide Anglia Building Society with £600m investment and Paul Mugnaioni, the ex Director of Housingin Glasgow,as the first Managing Director. The Company, which describes itself as a "new dimension in rented housing" has £600m to spend over five years. They want to be a "major force in the new UK market in rented housing by providing quality home with a profesional back up service for all levels of that market,from Scat Publications 28 WE'RE NOT FOR SALE

WHAT SORT OF CO-OP TO 4. What repairs and modernisation need CONSIDER doing - where will the money for that come from and what will it cost? Think carefully and get advice from Co-ops win record grants people who have not got an interest in 5. How much will it cost to manage the pushing for co-ops. If you transfer your estate: rent collection, arrears, Housing minister lord estate out of the public sector, then it is allocations, caretaking, etc etc? What Caithness has doubled the lost forever from the council stock. There does it cost the council to manage your grant to the National federa- estate now? is no 'opting back'. tion of Housing CcH>ps as Adding up 3,4 and 5 what is the likely part of a £1.09 million pack-n age to promote tenant ma - TRANSFERRED rent? Doyou think that 100%ofthe tenants agement initiatives in publiC are prepared to take on the responsibility OWNERSHIP CO-OPS of owning and managing the estate, in a hous,heing. Section 16 grants, to democratic way? Do you think you could be paid in 1989/90, repre- Tenants can use Part N Housing Act 88 0 to transfer their estate into a transferred agree policies for instance on allocations, sent an increase of £20 ,000 ownership co-ops (TOG). Tenants have evictions, succession, lodgers? over the year before. . to be balloted. In 1988/89 the grant to the TENANTS MANAGEMENT National Ferderation of The co-op OWNSthe housing. The co-op Housing Co-ops was iust90 under £50,000; in 1989/ will buy the estate from the council with CO-OP 46 a mortgage or loan from a bank or it has risen to £109,6 . Tenants can set up a tenant management National Federation of building society. Although the co-op may co-op (TMG) to manage the estate. The get a discount on the purchase price like Housing Co-ops chair estate is still owned by the council (or suzanna lebran told Inside any other approved landlord, there will housing association) and is still part of Housing that they had re- be no other subsidy. The co-op will have the public sector. You can usually opt ceived everything they had to borrow money to pay for major repairs back if the council agrees. asked for and were 'delight- Once you are in a TOC,then the co-op is ed' by the announcement. Tenants remain secure council tenants ',he tenant management responsible for everything that the paying. council rents and have the same council now does i.e. rent collection, unit will nOw be able to be rights including the right to buy. Major expanded' she said but repairs, allocations, arrears policy and repairs and modernisation have to be _ ..~.,...'h?t it was ditlicult to ~ ....,..r evictions etc etc. paid for out of the council's HIPs The co-op has to calculate how much rent programme just like any other estate. The National Federation of Housing Co- has to be paid by individual tenant The tenants form a co-op, and then members to cover the repayments on the operatives have a Model Modular negotiate the Management Agreement loans, and the full costs of management Agreement, which contains a range of with the council (or other owner). This options. and day to day repairs. legal agreement sets out the division of Individual tenants are only liable for a all the management responsibilities Virtually all TMCs take on responsibility nominal £1 share to belong to the co-op. between the council and the co-op. Itthen for repairs, allocations (within council If the co-op itself cannot pay its bills, then sets out allowances which the council will guidelines), neighbour disputes etc. A it would have to find another landlord or re-pay to the co-op to carry out those few take on rent collection and arrears company to buy them out jobs. There is no fixed formula for these control, but a TMC cannot evict a tenant. agreements - do not take on jobs that The exact terms of this agreement are It can be 'Fully Mutual' i.e. all tenants are crucial. You will need expert advice. members of the co-op and all members you do not feel confident about doing. of the co-op are tenants (or prospective tenants). This means you have no preserved right to buy and are not assured or ~cure tenants. The co-op gets tax relief on its mortgage payments. It can be 'Non-Mutual'i.e. some members may not be tenants, but be outside experts or owner occupiers on the estate. Tenants are assured tenants and have a preserved right to buy. An ownership co-op has to be an approved Landlord with the Housing Corporation just like anyone else buying council estates. They will monitor the activities of co-ops to ensure that their management practices and financial arrangements are within their Guidelines. If you get money from a building sdciety they will monitor the condition of the building. Questions to ask: 1. What price will you have to pay for the building(s)? 2.Who is prepared to lend you the money to buy it - a building society, a bank? 3.Howmuch will itcost the co-op to repay the loan? WE'RE NOT FOR SALE Scat Publications 29

KEY QUESTIONS TO ASK • Why are you thinking of setting up a TMC? • Willitsolve your particular problems? • Are there other ways of achieving the same ends? If you went ahead then: ....f\t\D you • 1. How much of the management do you want to take on? How much does the ~eT c.1E.~NAl.- council want you to take on? C01)~OWNfi~H\f>~ • 2. Are they offering you enough money for you to be able to employ ...'DtAL.H? sufficient people to do the jobs? • 3. Is there any money available to repair and modernise the estate and do environmental works to improve the actual housing before the co-op takes it on and after the co-op is responsible. • 4. You will need a clear legally drawn up agreement setting out the exact terms of the agreement. The financial commitments over enough years to enable you to plan, and what happens if the co-op collapses? The terms of a Management agreement have to be approved by the Secretary of State for the Environment.

WHO CAN HELP? THE ANSWER OR before you invite one in - make sure A COP OUT? Whatever sort of co-op you are that you get one that is trustworthy. considering, tenants will need Are they the answer to large independent expert financial and legal Once you have taken over your estate, bureaucratic and patemalistic housing advice. You will also need training in the the whole nature of your tenants management and the only way tenants necessary skills to own and/or manage association or group will change from will ever have any say in their your own estate: accounting, legal, being a pressure group saving your housing? OR are they irrelevant to technical etc. Although you should have estate to being a management body with most tenants, mainly for middle class enough money to employ staff for the co- the job of running (and maybe owning) single people and a part of the op, you will need to be able to keep the estate. Youwillhave to be democratic Government's attack on public control in the hands of the tenants and to and accountable and consistent. Itwillbe housing. manage the staff. an enormous amount of work - do not underestimate how much time itwill take! The debate about co-ops was raging Is there arty money to enable you to before the Government intervened. employ experts to do an independent An ownership or a management co-op They are being promoted by the fmancial and structural feasability study will need to employ workers. They Government as part of the policy of of the idea? What information will you should employ them on proper local breaking up public housing. Like need to be able to make a decision? Is authority scales of pay and conditions - housing associations, they are being there money to: draw up the agreements, the NFHC Model has a section on employment practice. Preference should transformed to suit the Government's train the tenants, employ staff and ends. They too will have to rely on professional expertise? be given to those housing management staff who would otherwise lose their jobs private fmance, which means high Transferred Ownership Co-ops: The because of your decision to set up a co- costs and high rents. Housing Corporation and their Tenants op. Tenants management co-ops should There are other ways ofgetting control Transfer Managers will help you set up aim to employ council service and defending your estate e.g. a TOC, as it is transferring stock away departments e.g building, architects etc. decentralised management, tenants from council ownership. There is rather than private contractors. Or the participation schemes and estate Government money available both in the council can 'second' workers to a TMC. management boards. pre-registration period, and for training when the co-op is set up. Tenants Management Co-ops: There is Government money for training tenants inTMCs,and several councils have co-op The National Federation of Housing Co..ops policy says: sections. "The NFHC actively supports public sector housing and is totally' Secondary Housing Associations can help you set up a TOC or a TMC:NFHC will refer you to a local one. These are opposed to the privatisation of such stock ... " specialist organisations run by co-ops and housing associaitons to provide expert advice to co-ops. Ask around Scat Publications 30 WE'RE NOT FOR SALE MONEY TALKS: .THE FINANCES OF PRIVATISATION

Private money - from banks, flnanciers, building societies, pension to rate it as a good investment or good funds, construction companies and speculative developers - will source of income. But the Government does not want to give money to local invest in anything so long as they can make enough money. If they councils. So they have a number of don't invest then the government's housing policy of moving from other ways to give public money to public spending to private investment will not work. private landlords. There are a number of Government ASSURED PROFITS to evict tenants if they feel like selling slush funds for developers involved in the property. An assured tenancy has 'urban renewal schemes' which often To attract private investment and private much less security of tenure -landlords include doing up emptied council landlords, the Government has to do two will be able to get rid of tenants much estates e.g. City Grants which only go things: easier, so they can sell the property to developers charging market rents. empty or move in new tenants who will The government have recently 1. Make sure rents are high enough to pay more rent. Limitingsuccession to one initiated the Business Expansion ensure that profit levels are similar to spouse also means that properties will Scheme. Millions of pounds is being those that investors can get elsewhere. come vacant more often. given away in tax relief to investors in The Housing Act abolishes fair rents for This is why they have introduced the private renting,on condition that they new lettings - and introduces market assured tenancy and the assured let on assured tenancies. But the rents. The Government talks a lot about shorthold tenancy. subsidy does not reduce the market affordable rents and reasonable rents but rents that tenants have to pay. It just they have refused to produce any CARROTS AND STICKS makes it more profitable. The building guidelines or to define these terms. Rents societies and housing associations are will not be fixed by what tenants can The Government have to do two things setting up BES schemes: Nationwide afford. They have to be high enough to - attract private investors with Anglia's first BESscheme in Richmond cover ALL the costs of private carrots, and beat tenants into Surrey has rents of £600-800a month loans,building and management, without "choosing" private landlords with any subsidy from the Government. sticks. STICKS 2. Make sure that investors are not put Landlords have rarely made enough off becoming landlords by being unable Of course a private landlord looks much from renting to poor people for them more attractive if you have also starved the council and the council tenants of any "Fair rents have meant that rented housing is no longer an attractive form money to do repairs or build new homes. of investment" William Waldegrave MP, ex Minister of Housing. And you are forcing rents up. The Government is using all its financial powers - over housing expenditure, rent levels and ratecapping, to push councils into selling estates. Housing Investment Programme money Homes to be sold for £3,249 - called HIPS - are increasingly By Pafriclt O'HanIo directed to where the scheme involves A city's entire COuncilhousing belieVed to be the rust nsuch "privatisation" e.g. selling offsome of the stock is to be sold to a Private mass transfer of counc.iJ landlOrd - at a knOCkdown houses. estate, turning some of the housing over to "low cost home ownership schemes". price of £3,249 a house. North HOUSing trill pay In the face of oPfIOSition £21.5 million for the prop- .HATs money will not be new money - from many of the 8,000 ten- erties and has promised to it is sliced of the top of the HIPs and ants affected, Conservative- spend a further £33 million, therefore taken away from other tenants controlled Gloucester City li!Ssthe COstofthe transfer, on Council's hOUSingcommittee modernizing 1,SOO of the nationally. And tenants voting against a voted to sell 6.soo homes to houses. It says it will ballot HAT have been told that they will get no the North Housing ASSOci_ tenants before the deal. more money spent on their estate. arion, based in Newcastle The Gloucester Tenants' upon Tyne. The houses Would Federation, which has twice Estate Action money goes to estate be eXJlected to fetch up to complained to the ombuds_ improvements approved of by the £50,000 each on the open man, said that meetings on Government, usually involving the market. estates shOWed that tenants reorganisation of local estate 'Tenants oPPGsedto the sale WereoverwhelminglyoPlJOsed attacked the decision as "ab- to the sale. management and estate budgets to encourage privatisation and opting out. solute lunacy", saying that "We stand to lose all Our they will risk eviction and security of tenure and risk The information submitted by the increased rents JI'l a resUlt.Itis being eVicted", Mrs Anne councils to get Estate Action money was used by the Government to justify the HATs. nNANCIALLY VIABLE TENANTS EXPLAIN ACCOUN'l'ANT'SPROFIT Consultants are often brought in to work out whether a particular deal is nOURES "fmancially viable". Most consultants l'The Touche Ross report was based on the assumption that there Wi know what the council or landlord wants to dO,and they work out how it can be no new build, whereas one of the (Council's) main justifications for tb done. They will work out the "price" for scheme was that it was the only way to build homes in the future •.. tha: the sale based on a series of assumptions there would be drastic reductions in the cost and level of se: - see below. And they will work out the maintenance and repairs by at least 13%. That it would be dependent implications for a council, in terms of lost rent income, remaining debts, potential certain economic conditions and right to buy sales ... rate of infiati, government money to bail the council out interest rates which turned out not to be true." (Some of these figuresi etc. were in fact changed before the final report) There is nothing scientific about this. You ''The Council predicted the rent levels based on absolutely no fmancii only have to listen to Rochford tenants information whatsoever. but just glibly said at the first meetings that talking about the fmancial reports done by accountants Touche Ross, for levels would be kept to 7% per annum, which was roughly in line Rochford District Council (see box). what the Council bJ,d been charging. Then of course Touche Ross to justify that within their report, they couldn't do it very easily, there THE PRICE although they made computer models using 5,6,7 and 10 per cent, it was The higher the price the new landlord clear that for reasonable levels of profit margins, 10% would be b pays, the higher the rents for the transferring tenants. The lower the price, but there was a paragraph or line in the Touche Ross report s the bigger the outstanding debt left for although this would obviously be better for Crouch Valley, be, other tenants to pay. all the infonnation thats gone out to tenants about rent increases be:' How is the price fixed? Although new kept at 7% it may not be politically expedient". landlords do not appear to get any direct iUSo they started at 7% and then worked. backwards, which is why the' grants to buy up council estates, the whole way the sale price is fixed ensures pame up with the 13% cut in services!" that they make money. .ef: Rochford tenants speaking. The plan is that council or social housing should be "self financing" i.e. that the tenants should pay for all the costs,and that there will be no subsidies in the future. I But fixing a very low price for an estate is a way of subsidising a new landlord. HANDS OFF And the Government will payoff the council's outstanding debts if an estate is sold at a lower price: a 90%subsidy after a voluntary transfer and 75% for a Pick aU R. HOMES a tenant transfer. In exactly the same way as the Government has undervalued shares and major public assets to encourage share D,XFof{b ownership, they are prepared to pay a high initial cost to achieve their political FeDERATioN aims in housing. Public subsidy for privatisation is entirely normal in their -, ENANT5 eyes. Yet public subsidy for tenants makes them throw up their arms in ASSociATiON horror. The valuation or price of an estate is not calculated in some objective way. Instead they work it out from the income from current rents (and planned increases) minus the deductions for management and maintenance, and interest on capital to buy the estate as a loan over 30 years. They work out how big a loan they can afford, and thats the "price"! But the landlord can also make money from sales ofland, higher rents for new tenants etc. For tenants campaigns, the important point is that in order for a council and landlord to have agreed a "price" they must have made assumptions or guesses about the income and the expenditure of the new landlord which affect tenants . • Income: - future rents and rent increases - for Lobbying Parliament 1988 Philip Wolmuth current tenants and new tenants who are Scat Publications 32 WE'RE NOT FOR SALE

not necesarily covered by any etc have sold out tenants. Key questions WHO IS PUTTING UP THE agreements on increases. to ask include: MONEY? - service charges • How did they decide the price? - the sales of homes and their value Housing associations and similar - sales of land and its price • What assumptions have they made landlords will have to borrow the money - any "dowry" to make up a "negative e.g. are they planning to cut services or to buy the estate. value" increase rents and service charges. • Who are they borrowing from? - any government grants • Are they promising to freeze rents - tax concessions if it is a BESscheme • Is this a jointventure with some private AND improve repairs and modern- bank or financial institution backed by a • Expenditure: isation? building societies etc? - interest on the loans taken out to buy • How are they going to pay for it? the estate • If they have financial backers already, - outstanding repairs -legal obligations • Are they banking on selling homes, will they be able to borrow money on the - promised modernisation either on the open market or RTBs,how terms that they are relying on in their - level of services/management on the many? calculations? estate • Is this realistic? • Are they insisting on terms of tenancy - ... and a guess at future interest rates, or rent levels etc as part of the loan. inflation, building costs etc. And if they • How many were sold last year? get any of those wrong~ then rents will • Are they on the Board that's managing • Where will the present tenants be your home? have to go up to pay for it. moved to? • Will they do it in your interest or in The new landlord has to raise the money • Are they planning to sell off land? they need to do modernisation or theirs? improvements by • What for? The SCATINALGODatabase will have - borrowing more money (and increasing • Do they have planning permission? information on these types of deals. Use the rents) . the Questions on Finance in We are Not - by selling off land and homes • Does that mean demolishing homes for Sale Parr 1, page 23 -30. - increasing rents . and building at a higher density? Get hold of all consultants feasability • Are they going to charge new tenants studies or council studies which should THE DOWRY SYSTEM much higher rents? have these kinds of calculations in them. Some estates which are in very bad • Are they going to introduce service You should be able to answer the condition will have a "negative value" i.e. charges? questions above from those reports. the outstanding cost of repairs is more Councillors ought to be able to give you • What do they plan to spend on these.lf not use the Access to Information than the rent income. The council has to management and maintenance? pay the new landlord to 'take it away'! Act 1985, see We are Not for Sale Part 1, This is called a "dowry". • Is this more or less than the council p.5. spends? Butthis only covers the very basic repairs You may need help to understand these that a landlord is legally obliged to do, • What assumptions have they made calculations. Local community or tenants and NOT improvements or about interest charges, inflation in organisations or advice centres may be modernisation. Lots of estates are in building materials. able to help. Demand money to pay for terrible condition with damp and your own experts advice. If they claim • How many people are they planning 'democracy' they must give you the condensation, but are not below the legal to employ - is that more or less than the minimum. resources to enable you to get good council. advice and information. Contrast the Walterton & Elgin estimate that they consultants fees and officers time spent should get £50m dowry - more than on their side with your resources. What Westminster spend on all their housing about trade unionists who work in the in one year. But most estates would not Council, or a nearby council? Try get such a big dowry, as they are not in technical aid centres. such a bad state of repair. A Dowry is a "bribe" paid out of the Council's HIPs money or its capital receipts from selling estates! That means that it is a direct loss to all other council tenants, and the bigger the dowry, the less repairs everyone else gets. Estate sales cost the council i.e. the rest of the tenants, and the ratepayer or poll taxpayer money - work out the cost locally. Any outstanding debts left after the estate is sold - minus any government subsidy - have to be paid for from capital receipts or from tenants rents. If there are no tenants left, then by the poll tax.

THE PRICE IS RIGHT? Tenants campaigns will need to find out what the exact basis of the financial calculations are. Demand to know. It's /0 your home, not theirs. If they refuse, accuse them of hatching a dirty deal and ~I //1111 show how other such deals e.g. Rochford ~///I ////1' WE'RENOT FOR SALE Scat Publications 33

SOME EXAMPLES If they fix the rents so high that the HRA Thamesmead was valued at £25m, and makes a profit,then that has to be used sold to the new Company for £2.5m after for housing benefit i.e. the poor are COuncil rent pressure from the DOE.When Yyns Mon subsidising the very poorest. Council wanted to sell off all their Capital receipts i.e. the money that housing, the price was £3000a property, councils get from selling homes on RTB Subsidies even though the remaining debt on each and estates, will have to be spent on property was still £6000. paying off the council's debts e.g. on Portsdown Estate in Portsmouth was building a new leisure centre. Only 25% to be banned offered for free. Stockbridge Village of each years receipts will be able to be Trust took over Cantril Farm.and only spent on improving council housing. paid £7.4m for the estate, and the Government wrote off the outstanding £7.m Knowsley Borough Council still owed.

COUNCIL RENTS Council rents have already more than doubled in the last ten years. They will go up even more in the next few years as a result of the Housing finance regulation changes. And with no more capital money for rehabilitation or maintenance, more and more urgent repairs will be needed and paid for by higher rents or estate sales. The Government policy on rents is that they should be closely linked with quality of housing and level of service - i.e. the lower the rent you can afford, the worse quality of home you can expect.

THE NEW LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND HOUSING FINANCE BILL Objectives: • Cut Government subsidy and make council housing self financing. • Make housing departments run as if they were businesses. • Use the money from estate sales to payoff council debts, rather than improve rented hoUSing. The jargon of housing professionals and activists continually points out how this new Bill will "ring fence" Housing Revenue Accounts. All this means is that councils will no longer be able to cross- subsidise the Housing Revenue Account (see box) and hence subsidise the rents with money from the rates. This will mean massive rent increases everywhere. Estimates for rent rises are up by £30per repairs, plus interest on week in Central London, and between also often used to pay £5-15a week elsewhere. cutting, housing advice lion which are services for The HRAin the future will only be able to contain specific sorts of income and expenditure. All expenditure on management, maintenance, modernisation, major repairs plus the debt charges on the original loans of all the stock ( i.e. including sold off estates and RTBsales) will come out of the HRA. But the only income to the HRAwill be tenants rents and any Government subsidy. This gives the Government enormous power to dictate policies on rent levels, repairs standards, privatisation of management, arrears policies and sales of estates. Scat Publications 34 WE'RE NOT FOR SALE

THE Stealing your watch .FIXERS to tell you the time

The sale of council housing is already the biggest "asset TSB in . stripping" operation ever. And there are more millions ofpounds If_.,...... council houses venture being paid in fees to rums of consultants to tell councils how ~-i:"'::'!:r.;'::'::1:;:::, ~ .... to se II t h· eu h' ousmg, orgamsmg.. th e pnva . t efi mances and ><" - -:;..::.:',,.,." ...... :::::r.. ,~~_';:''':.':-:::..r~ - - ...... -- ...... -IlK" C"~ At _I ww-- ~ and Owl .. working for the new landlords. Some of these consultants try ~::.::::~~=~~~..!.":.'~ ~';-~~I"':S • • •• • • Jo&bt .... \lre. PrGp.,1; to dllPl* at • .,.....,1· d\SC\P \0 and keep rmgers m ~I the pies by also adVlsmg counc~s and ~~~~ "'=;;idf~~ket place tenants how to resist the very deals they are settmg up pro~;rtYcompany n d -se On elsewhere! 58to a ". ?ould be made ."attractiv~" to private T _, e\'-OffS "When we saw the Governments mv~stment, f~r Instance: Impro~e the •• nC' 5 enVIronment, mcrease rents, adVIse on CO.. Housing White Paper we found it government grants for developers. suited us very nicely" quote from Howard Mallinson, Consultant • Arrange barter deals - draw up a profitable package, and interest different with KPMG Peat Marwick developers. McLintock, one of the major consultants nrms involved. • Put local authorities in touch with private landlords and private sources of fmance. HOW DO THEYMAKE • Set up partnership deals with housing THEIR MONEY? associations and private money to take over housing. • Money Brokers: - Bring together councils and housing • Assess tenants views on being handed wherever they are. They just repeat "off associations, with private investors over to a HAT. looking for a good deal. the peg" legal and financial proposals. - CIPFA Services pIc, the private arm of • Approach local authorities on behalf They have computer models for working the professional association of public of private landlords who are looking for out the profit and loss account for a finance adminstrators suitable estates to buy. housing stock and standardised legal - PIC (Property Investment Company)plc constitutions for new landlords. They will • Advise on setting up new types of present a ''technical'' and supposedly set up by the Trustee Savings Bank. private landlords e.g. trusts, bogus "non-political" justification for selling housing associations etc. • Fixers: estates. - City fIrms of solicitors such as • Their accountancy section often act as Don't be taken in. They know nothing Oppenheiriters, (Walterton & Elgin) and auditors for councils as well as housing about providing a decent housing service Trowers & Hamlyn (Rochford) can also associations! As Tower Hamlets Tenants for tenants. They only know about be employed to draw up the legal Federation said "If the Government's plan introducing private sector business documents for the sale. is to get local authorities to acquiesce (to methods and business values. They see HATs) through poverty then Peat • Management Consultants: your home as a nice little earner, a Marwick McLintock are in a very good - Accountants and businessmen who will realisable asset, security for a loan, a position to know when starvation sets in". advise the council how to run their source of profit. housing as a business - and that will (City Limits 17.11.88) Demand copies of reports they have done usually include advice to sell estates. • They work for the Government: - Capita Consultants were given the job of for other councils. Talk to the tenants in - Coopers Lybrand producing the "evidence to justify that area. CIPFA refused to allow Rochford tenants access to their Study, - KPMGPeat Marwick McLintock designation" of HATs, and to work out because they were hoping to sell the how the HAT Board could sell off the same "product" to other councils. But estates. "Our aim is to stimulate the flow many other tenants groups or trade union of private finance into social • Coopers Lybrand even worked on the branches have got hold of their reports, plans for the Housing Finance legislation. and can tell you the results of their housing" studies. The SCATINALGODatabase can Patrick Gardner. PIC pic Gdn 10/5/88 In fact they will do anything they are paid to do! give you information on these Consultants, and the estate sales they have been involved in. WHATSORT OF THINGS PACKAGED TO LOOK DO THEYDO NEUTRAL! CIPFA SERVICES When they advise on estate sales, tenants Although they are the private arm of the • Advise Councils on the best financial will need to get access to the feasability Chartered Institute of Public Finance and arrangements for a voluntary transfers. studies and the financial predictions. Administration, they do not have any • Make proposals about how an estate Their reports are often very similar official or professional status. They are a Demonstrating against Westminster's housing policies Philip Wolrnuth private company, and a management consultancy like many others, but MUWlCK McLINTOCK specialising in financial advise to public :kMcLintock specialise in urban renewal and the disposal of council housing. sector bodies with no experience of of a major multinational accountancy and management consultancy firm. finance markets. iean subsidiary sponsors a group of management COnsultants called the They work very closely with housing ',on Council whose aim is to promote the privatisation of public services. Their associations e.g. "Now is the time for Privatisation: the public use of the private sector". • setting up the £65m flotation on the have set up an Urban Renewal Consultancy. None of the consultants have any stock exchange of North Housing ience of housing management or consulting with tenants. They are accountants, Association. 'rs, adroinstrators. • setting up The Housing Finance have close connections with the Go' 'so They were chosen Corporation to raise private finance and the HATs reports to justify imposing ,ts, Latnbeth, Southwark act as bankers to housing associations. .d Sunderland.. . • With ihe Housing Corporation, previously worked for Heseltines .e and were involved in National Federation of Housing up the disastrous Stockb staff were seconded to Associations and James Capel the rE to develop the U :e cash available to propety Stockbrokers, forming a specialist and then they that same grant! Private Finance Unit. fy keep close links with ed to work for local • CIPFA Services have been advising ing departm.ents in th (not estate management) • Rochford Council how to sell off its stock .e came from hOUSingassociations. • CIFPA Services are retained by .an is an advisor the Institute of Guinness Trust and by North & North that encouraged British HAs as brokers of co' • Advising housing associations wanting to buy Coal Board Houses and Warrington and Runcom New Town Houses. There are some new breedS of consultants setting up businesses to "persuade" tenants to vote for estate sales. They are employed by the council or by the new landlord to get the result they want - see the HATs consultants. They present themselves as community- work type consultants who will "work with" the tenants to draw up a privatisation package that the tenants will vote for. Do not be fooled. This is not the way to defeat estate sales or HATS. tJller.UU

WHAT TO DO ABOUT CONSULTANTS • Find out who they are and what their record is? What have they been involved in elsewhere? The Database should be able to help. • Make sure everyone on the estate knows who the consultants are and what their involvement means. Photographs of the consultants can be photocopied and put up round the estate warning people. • Refuse to co-operate with them until you know what their exact terms of reference are, how long it's going to take, what they are going to produce e.g. a written report, advice to officers etc. If their terms of reference do not include advising on how to avoid selling homes or estates, preserving low rent homes, and improving the quality of life for the existing tenants, boycott them. • Don't answer any questionnaires, show them round your estate or in any way help them with their job. • Work out alternative plans for the future of your estate. What kind of housing do you need? What about the social and environmental conditions? What about jobs for the unemployed. • How much are they being paid? All Housing Action Trusts, the tenants Tenants have both employed consultants their fees come out of money that could chased them off the estates and refused and will give you their advice. otherwise be spent on improving to talk to them. When they reported to services for tenants. Most of the existing 'friendly' architects, the DOE they admitted that they had not planners etc are used to working on co- • Demand that the consultants come to been able to get any information from ops. Don't get stampeded down that road a public meeting to explain what they are local tenants, community groups or the unless it's where you want to go. doing. Their draft fmdings and councils. recommendations should be discussed CASEUK,SCATand local tenants groups When MORI Polls tried to pay Sandwell may have some ideas. We are Not for withthe tenants, before they are finalised. tenants £10to come to a meeting and talk and tenants must get copies of any report. Sale Part 1, page 11 will help with about HATS, they were picketed. alternative plans. Demand that tenants get copies of any Sandwell tenants paid a surprise visit to report. Price Waterhouse consultants offices in What to look out for • Contact the Town Hall trade unions. Birmingham. Lambeth and Southwark • get a "no-strings" grant to employ a Tell them what the consultants mean and tenants invaded the offices of Property consultant yourselves. Even if a who the)!: are. Why are private Investment Company (PIC) Ltd. consultant is told by the landlord to work consultants being brought in at all?Surely Documents that came into the hands of to the tenants committee, they know who the necessary expertise plus local the tenants showed the consultants were is going to pay at the end! knowledge exists already in the council? certainly not independent or concerned • draw up the "terms of reference" very The trade unions should also demand about the tenants views. The tender access to the consultants - because of carefully. It should say in detail what you documents submitted by Peat Marwick the threat to jobs. want them to look at, and what options McLintock and PIC Ltd to win the HATs you want them to consider. It should also • Demand that the council informs contract said that the studies would say what the unacceptable solutions are. tenants and trade unions of any contact "deliver to Ministers the successful Set up a tenants steering committee with consultants - whether approaches result they require, namely:- the whose job is to monitor very closely what by them on behalf of new landlords, or successful transfer of revitalised they are doing. discussions initiated by the local council. housing estates with a good future out • demand access to all the information The consultants like to work in secret. of the ownership of the HAT into the ownership of the private sector". They that they collect, so you can question their Publicity about their acitivities and conclusions and recommendations. implicating them in unpopular schemes won the contract! is bad for their public image. • only chose consultants with a proven CONSULTANTS ON record of committment to tenants They make lots of money out of councils. The Association of Metropolitan YOUR SIDE? • get references where they have Authorities Housing Committee called on If you need help to take over your estate worked before. their members to boycott all consultants and/or you need help to get the best deal • make clear rules about who they can involved in HATs. or you need help to draw up your talk to - you don't want them setting up altern(!.tive plan then there are some deals withlandlords or bankers do you? RAIDS ON CONSULTANTS consultants and individuals who have a good record of working for tenants. And finally, show their draft report and When the Government employed recommendations to other trUsted Consultants Peat Marwick McLintock, Contact those tenants that have had that people, who can check their calculations PIC, PIEDA, and Price Waterhouse to experience. Hulme tenants in and interpretations of the law and every provide the evidence for setting up Manchester and Walterton & Elgin assumption and statement intheir report! WE'RE NOT FOR SALE Scat Publications 37 STAYING WITH .THE COUNCIL Tenants face very difficult times. The Government will do everything CAMPAIGNING FOR it can to "persuade" and bully tenants into choosing a private landlord. A NO VOTE Massive cuts in housing expenditure and spiralling rents are The Government are relying on tenants deliberate. They are meant to encourage tenants dissatisfaction and apathy and anger with their council fuel estate sales. landlords to achieve what the Government could not do directly - the However, the evidence of the ballots, petitions and opinion polls sale of thousands of council homes. carried out prove that the overwhelming majority of tenants want to But instead when tenants found their stay council tenants. But we cannot afford to be complacent. Tenants estate was for sale, they have fighting the sale of their estate will have to look at what staying with campaigned against that sale. And when the council may mean, and how the councils own service can be tenants realised the reality of "Pick a Landlord"they opposed the HousingBill. improved. They will need to convince their neighbours that staying The Housing Act 1988 ironically gives with the council is worth it. Notjust that the private landlords are bad. tenants more rights and opportunities to fight sales than they had before. Which WHICH IS BEST LOCALLY BASED is why so mnay sales are being done under the 1986Housing & Planning Act. And some tenants will still feel, after all HOUSING MANAGEMENT the arguments, that transferring to a new Council staff based together in local Ballots can be won. But its hard work to landlord OF THEIR CHOICE may be offices,working as a team, and with get the NO vote. better than staying with a council that is tenants having a say in spending determined to sell them off. priorities and monitoring, can bring r. significant improvements in tenant Tenants who have fought off developers satisfaction, with no substantial extra cost. S:\\' T() \1.1.MfH.:tIFlHll) "l"t::":\:\TS and defeated attempts to sell them off to housing association, or tenants who know Maiden Lane Estate in Camden is only a that their landlord is determined to get few years old. Yet it needs major THINK' rid ofthem, may decide to find a landlord structural works, and is one of the most DO YOU REALLY WANT TO RISK who wants them, rather than just waiting unpopular estates in the borough. YOUR FUTURE! for their council to sell off what they can Tenants are campaigning for an estate and let the rest deteriorate. based management and repairs team, with local allocations, and tenant involvement. They feel this is the only CASE UK's POLICY way that their estate will get sensitive CASEUK'spolicy has always been that policies and the attention it needs. we are not trying to save council housing 'Or housing department JOINT MANAGEMENT empires for their own sake, but SCHEMES because at the moment, they offer tenants the best deal. We judge Tenants on the Barnfield Estate in landlords - all landlords - on the Greenwich are setting up an Estate VOTE TO OPPOSE basis of tenants interests: Management Board, which will be made REMEMBER - IF YOU DO NOT VOTE, up of tenant and council nominees with THEN IT WILL BE ASSUMED YOU ARE NOT OPPOSED TO • rent tenants in the majority. THE TRANSFER TO CROUCH VALLEY • security of tenure It will have a Management Agreement • This kind of campaign cannot be won • tenants rights with the council and be responsible for by a few active tenants - you have to the day to day management. It is similar convince everybody to actuallyvote NO. • repairs and modernisation to a Tenants Management Co-op, but can • equal opportunity policies build up tenants involvement slowly. • You will need to do a lot of doorknocking to explain to people what • allocations policies Belle Isle tenants in Leeds voted for an the is going on and to answer their Estate Management Board. In a ballot questions. Practical advice on • consultation and tenants control- 51 % 93% with a turnout, voted in favour. campaigning on this issue is in We're Not Leeds Council will delegate its • homes for the homeless. for Sale Part 1. management powers to a Board of 50% tenants and 50% council officers. The • The landlord or the council will put Staying with the council will also mean Government agency 'Priority Estates out their own glossy leaflets, organise major changes. Rents are going to be Project' are promoting these Boards in meetings, pay consultants. You will have forced up, while management and many areas. to be able to expose who the landlord really is and what they are really offering. services get worse. As housing Contact other tenants groups who are departments come under more pressure, working with a Board, and those that • The landlord or council will ttY and there will be less consultation, fewer decided against to see what their smear you - they will call you transfers and stricter attitudes on arrears, experience is. Does it offer tenants unrepresentative, scaremongering, illegal tenants etc. But there is scope for control? Or is it the first step to outsiders, politically motivated etc.. changes - and they need to be worked privatisation? Unless you have made sure that all the on NOW. Scat Publications 38 WE'RENOT FOR SALE

tenants know who you are and what the campaign is about, you could lose votes. • You have to have a really democratic and open organisation - so that you keep all the tenants together, and because you will need all the help you CHARTER can get. • This is not just an issue for the tenants directly affected. It also has implications for all the community; for all those who might want rented housing or sheltered housing in the future; whose children will want to stay in the area and can't afford to buy; for all who are homeless now. It's about a loss of secure jobs. It will seriously affect owner occupiers on the estates. A wide community based • the effect on rent levels campaign is really important. • the effect on terms of tenancy Where there hasn't been a good TA, tenants have joined with others in the • the effect on security of tenure community to organise the campaign, • the effect on future tenants (see the Rochford report). And estate based TAs have formed later. • Lots of tenants are not in TAs. Lots of tenants don't live on estates but in scattered houses. Tenants on other estates will not necessarily know what's going on. So - get invited to talk to every organisation you can fmd in your community: sports clubs, under-fives groups, penisoners groups, trade unions, ward political parties ~ anywhere where .eto investigate or proceed you will fmd people who live in rented such a scheme. housing or should be concerned with the future of your community. Leaflet the schools, bus stops, launderettes, the pub etc. • You have to have some ideas of the alternative. Tenants will need to be convinced that staying with the Council is the best bet. And that things can be improved.(see We're Not For Sale Ptl p.ll) prO:~dl decide their own

leaseholders to any or any other private

social record of any px:openy. Any information . -,eration.

Tenants vote no to new landlords Andrew Wiat WE'RE NOT FOR SALE Scat Publications 39

• Sta.ndaJds of building aDCl managemellt. The Council will do eve: association or other work, repairs and health and safety and quality policy. ORGANISE A CHARTER NOW • Terms of Teaancy Tenants campaigning to keep private landlords off their estates will need and The Council will do everything to demand support from the council. This of rent of transferred. tenants are Charter sets out the practical and public tenants enjoy. help that a council or councillors can give. For tenants who are fighting their own council plans to sell them off, the Charter • Evictioll has ideas for demands you can make The Council agrees not to use Ground loa of the Housing & Planning Act 1988 to evict during your campaign. tenants or to force them to move against their will. Too many councils are reacting to the threat of predatory landlords and finance changes by panicking and selling off • Alternatives estates themselves - which means The Council agrees to investigate a privatisation proposal as a m tenants lose all their rights. The council of improving living conditions stock generally. The Co' cannot stop a Part N "Pick a tenant" bid, will set out those alternatives in but they can help tenants fight it. Get your councillors, trade unions and tenants associations to adopt this Charter • Resources for 'l'eaaats now. Don't wait until a proposal for sale The Council recognises that no true or meaningfUl consultation with tenants or transfer is made. The Charter is a very place while tenlil .. . effective weapon in keeping predators It agrees to mat, away or in giving you an early advantage their organisations to if a possible sale is threatened. for their point of view. It aims to give tenants and trade The Council agrl unionists the ammunition they need to provide defend their homes, their jobs - and homes for future council tenants. With a ballot. 'l'hlS app time, help and information tenants can a private landlord or a hOusing defend their interests - many successful campaigns have shown how • 'l'im.eoff for Trade UnioDS it can be done. The Coune&agrees to will affect Ute jobs of

• Assistaace to IlOIl-CoUDdltenaats ~ The Council recognises CHARTER OF INTENT association tenants legitimate interests against Oxford Federation The Council has public he. of Tenants Associations improve the living standarl and Oxford City Council • BaUots We, Ihe undersigned agreejoinlly 10oppose, wilh all The Council agrees that it means al our disposal, any alumpl by privale landlords, set out inthe or otlur landlord bodus, who al/empllo bid 10 lake using a ballot that over council homes and relaud services and which lenanls believe nol 10 be in Iheir inleresl and.to work The Council will not dJ Iogelher 10 improve council Musing services and National Federation of Housing maintain an open and democralic provisum oj housing. with any p;tiva.te approved. landlord that 1lSe$ the rlgged. ballot. 1

rigo

PETITIONS Presenting the Petition - a photocopy of Get your council to publicly sign a Charter of Intent with their tenants The Housing & Planning Act does not the original is safer, in case they "lose" it - with lots of publicity and press agreeing to "jointlyoppose" any attempts legally require a Ballot for an estate sale to privatise council homes, and to work or privatisation (or delegation) of coverage, and the amount or percentage majority of tenants signing it. Take a together to improve council housing. The management (so far voluntary transfers local press will cover the event, and it have all held ballots). The Housing delegation to the Department of the Environment, the consultants, the lets tenants know the council's position. Corporation is going to "judge" whether Leicester and Oxford did this. sufficient support for selling an estate Housing Corporation, the new landlords, exists, without a ballot. your council - any and all of them. The six HATs campaigns had very A Petition may also be useful if you have different amounts of help from their If they refuse to hold a Ballot, then a councils. Ridley had already said that he carefully collected petition is hard to go to Court to challenge the results of the consultation with tenants! would ignore any council propoganda evidence of your opposition. against the HATs as "political • Draw up the wording very carefully. tomfoolery". It meant that all the anti- HATSwork had to be done by the tenants. • Get hold of a list of all the addresses of secure tenancies or leaseholders who WILL YOUR COUNCIL HELP? They urgently needed money and yet would have a vote. This is NOT the same most of the tenants groups fighting HATs Get your council to draw up an agreement reported that they had little real help. as all tenants. with local housing associations that they If your council says that it cannot give • Mark up the petitions with all the will not make a "predatory" bid under addresses listed. the Housing Act to take over estates. money to campaigns, then get it to Greenwich Council did this and many employ a Housing Act Information • Go door to door, get the tenants - other "social compacts" are being Worker who can do the research and preferably the name(s) on the rent book discussed. The Council can withdraw its training that local tenants will need to - to print their name against the address, co-operation and financial support over make a real choice. The tenants affected and sign it. planning, nominations, land deals, can do their own campaigning! • Go back to every door until you have transfers etc to enforce the Charter. The Sofar none of the councils planning to completed the petition. Keep a list of Housing Corporation asked a number of transfer their whole stock have given those that will not sign. housing associations in Hackney to get their tenants either the information, involved in bids for Hackney estates, resources or opportunity to find out for • When you have a good majority - a telling them that the tenants were in themselves whether its in their minimum of 51% of all tenants for a sell favour. The Council had signed such an off,more than 90%to be sure of stopping interests, as the council insists. Yet agreement,and was able to persuade the another example of how Tenants' the Housing Corporation - make several associations to have nothing to do withit. photocopies of the Petition and you can Choice is really the Landlords' Choice. use it for lots of purposes.

Crouch Valley tenants celebrate victory Andrew Wiart WE'RENOT FOR SALE Scat Publications 41 ------_.- -"- JOBS UNDER .THREAT

5elling off estates to private or privatised landlords does not just leaflet estates, collect petitions makes a difference. Contributions to a coach to affect tenants. It threatens everyone involved in organising and London to deliver a petition makes all the delivering a public housing service. Not only does it threaten their difference. job but their wage levels, terms and conditions as well as their job In the Southwark HATS campaign, a satisfaction. This section examines the threat to jobs from sales as tenant and a trade unionist went door-to- well as the opening threat from a new breed of private managing door together. This did a lot to improve agents. relations on the estate between tenants and council workers. RANGE OF COUNCIL STAFF In Arun, Sussex, in the absence of a tenants organisation, the local NALGO AFFECTED ran a campaign to persuade tenants to Housing Department staff, caretakers vote against a voluntary transfer. They and estate maintenance workers and won. repairs teams are all directly threatened. Personnel, legal, financial, and other SHARING INFORMATION central service departments will also be cut back as there is less work. Trade unionists in the housing department quite often know about the HATs (see Section 4) will take over not plans months before tenants find out - just housing management functions, but that information should be passed on to also plannng controls, public health tenants as soon as possible. powers, highways and sewage and even housing benefit. Large scale voluntary Trade unionists often have access to transfers will mean the closure of the specialised information - about plans, whole housing department. background figures etc. which tenants can use in their campaign. Trade Some staff may get jobs with the new unionists are often also experts inthe law, landlords. But it will not be the same. finance, writing press releases, etc. Or Workers will lose national pay and they know where to find that expertise. working condition agreements, rights of appeal and pensions etc .. Trade unions should also be organising their membership in the housing A VERY DIFFERENT JOB Non-resident Caretakers, Estate department to defend their jobs by: And the job willbe different too. The new Cleaners, Parks and Grounds • Non co-operation with the new landlords - whether traditional private Maintenance workers are all threatened landlord. landlor~ or housing associations will be, by the Compulsory Competitive Tendering. • refusing to draw up plans for as the Government White Paper put it, privatisation. subject to the disciplines of the market. The Government is attacking public Money matters will dominate the service jobs and local democracy. • challenging the handing over of confidential information about tenants. management policies. Services to tenants Housing departments are as much under will be cut to save money. Policies on threat as other services. Some Unions will find that senior staffare arrears, transfers and succession will be closely involved in management buy- determined not by social policies, but by TENANTS AND TRADE outs, or in setting up bogus housing the implications for rent income. associations for a voluntary transfer. UNIONS Council housing departments already Even when housing department staff are face having their Housing Revenue The only way to save council housing, is guarenteed their jobs, they should stillbe Accounts "ring fenced". This means that if tenants vote NO in the Ballots. Strong helping tenants to find out and housing will be run as a trading independent tenant organisations are understand what the implications are, account.There is no money for new build, fundamental to this fight. and to win the ballot. They should be for capital schemes etc. Repairs are But Trade Unions have a crucial role to working with repairs staff or central increasingly only going to be done as play in supporting tenants campaigns. department staff whose jbs are not part of a "partnership" or privatisation guaranteed. The experience in boroughs deal with private construction companies Tenants groups have little money. The who have privatised their refuse or other and finance. Councils are already forced NO TO HATS Campaigns relied on services, is that stewards or union to put repairs and modernisation work money raised through the Unions, and activists are rarely offered jobs! out to cowboy builders. sucessfully forced the Government to amend the Housing Act to give them a Its not just trade unionists jobs that are at HIPS money is being cut. And Ballot. Tenants from the HATted estates stake. It's also their homes. Low paid increasingly HIPs cash is being spent at feel confident they will win that Ballot- workers and retired workers are often the direction of the DOE on privatisation saving hundreds of council jobs. living in council housing. Get support projects, with private companies. Or on from unions representing health service refurbishment schemes using MSC Donations of cash, paper, printing, workers, bus workers, shop workers, labour. leaflets, posters are welcomed. Help to office cleaners and the local factories. Scat Publications· 42 '- WE'RE NOT FOR SALE

And it's not just trade unionists who can help tenants. It was the joint campaign by tenants and trade unions which fought From NALGOHousing Pack: offGrand Met Ltd from doing a feasability "Council housing has been a major factor in improving the health and living standards study to take over an area housing office of working people in this country. However it has also been provided from on high, often in Wandsworth. with little thought or consultation with the customer - the tenants. This has to change if Laws against trade union action and council housing is to be defended. secondary picketing do not apply to Trade Unions, tenants and local authorities need to work for better housing even when members of tenants groups. They can the financial constraints on councils are so severe. Tenants must be recognised as the picket an office and obstruct the private consumers of housing services. Trade Union members working in housing and local company in ways that trade unions now authorities need to remember this. Only by providing decent housing services that tenants fmd difficult. value will we be able to hope to retain direct provision of housing and jobs."

The SCATINALGOLandlord Database, paid for by NALGO,provides information Met doing a feasability study for the to NALGO Branches and to all tenants PRlVATISATION OF privatisation of management. Since then, no organisations about the private landlords council has tried to do it, and none of the big involved in buying up council estates. MANAGEMENT contractors have expressed any interest. NALGOrealised that the information was However recently the idea has reappeared. crucial to tenants campaigning for a NO Vote which was the only way NALGO CONSULTANTS members jobs would be saved. 5UGGESTING CHANGE Contact the Database: 0742-727484- 24hr ansaphone or write to SCAT, 1 Sidney Privatising management has been suggested by consultants to some district councils as an Street, Sheffield S1 4RG. alternative to a voluntary transfer. Where a Public Service Action, published by transfer is not financially "viable", or, as in SCAT, has regular coverage of the Rochford, where tenants defeated the privatisation of housing and other public proposal in the ballot, privatisation of services. See also WANFS part 1 page management would get rid of the 17on organising with trade unions. responsibility of day to day management, and distance the councillors from responsibility for future decisions about repairs and service levels. TENANTS OPI' OUT After a "pick a landlord" transfer, the council In some areas tenants are looking at could find that the leaseback tenants are choosing to opt out. In Tory areas such scattered all over the estate. They could as Westminster or Bradford, where the employ the new private landlord of the rest of tenants feel that the Council is the estate to manage the remaining council determined to sell them off somehow, tenants as well. As in other council services, tenants are looking at setting up tenant there will be senior housing officers who set up private companies to win the contract to controlled companies or co-ops to take manage the housing - called management over their housing·.·· buy-outs. In a number of LaboUI councils, tenants A number of housing associations have are being encouraged to investigate expressed interest in expanding into management and even ownership co- managing housing, on behalf of other ops, as the way to improve their housing. landlords. They could take over council stock, "- without having to buy it. Or they could set up Tenants are already demanding major joint "approved landlord companies" with changes in the way housing is repaired private investors with no experience of and managed as the "price" of them housing management. The practice of private voting to stay with the council. landlords employing local managing agents to collect rents is very common. Union branches are going to have too look at these proposals carefully. If when The Housing .Finance Billin 1989will introduce you have talked to the tenants, you agree ring fenced housing Revenue Accounts (see with their plans, then it is possible to section 9). This will in effect force all housing negotiate with the tenants to minimise job departments to cut management costs and operate as if they were a business, and pave losses. the way for privatisation of management. Management Co-ops can use Direct Labour Organisations. Council staff be WHAT EFFECT ON JOB5? seconded to carry out the management Existing housing staff would be made tasks under the control of the co-op. Staff redundant. They might get employed by the can be redeployed within the coUncil,or new companY,but they would no longer be on employed by the new landlord. Housing national pay scales or conditions. management has to stop being bureaucratic, paternalistic, prejudiced Councillors would no longer be in control of the day to day management - complaining and inefficient if it is to win the loyalty of to your councillor would have no effect. tenants. Tenants would find it difficult to have any But all of this requires the housing staff, control. the unions and the tenants to be on Policies on arrears, neighbour disputes, equal friendly terms, to understand each others opportunities etc could be left up to the point of view and trust each other. Its not Company. And their interest would be to cut easy. Do not leave it until there is an comers and save spending on management immediate threat. tasks. WE'RE NOT FOR SALE Scat Publications 43 THAMESMEAD .TRAGEDY

Thamesmead is held up by the Government as the shining example PROBLEMS of how a private trust can run housing better. The new town on the Service charges are not paid by the DSS outskirts of south east london is now owned by a private company. and yet you can be evicted fornot paying A Ballot of the residents voted for the trust rather than the local them. They are used to pay for lifts etc - things council tenants pay for in the council's altemative - but within months it had become a private rent, as well as the maintenance of the company. It's sordid history shows how such Trusts offer nothing but lakes, open spaces and parks used by problems to tenants. all the residents. Tenants rights to repairs have been THE LONDON LAND BANK PUBLIC SUBSIDY FOR drastically cut:tenants have to do alltheir own decorating and internal repairs. Thamesmead was built in 1967by the PRIVATE LANDLORD GLC. It houses 20,000 people and has ' T t nl 'd £25 Thamesmead tenants are now "private Clive Th om t ons rus 0 y Pal . m t t " . f' B h space for 20,000more. Three quarters of for the town _ although it was valued at en~ s - paymg all rents. ~t t e the homes are rented, the rest owner £25m at the f e I 1987/8 th al Housm~ Act 88 means no new fall rent occupied. It has substantial land suitable un . n e v ue was tenancIes. New tenants are already £318m. They do not have to re-pay.the paying 40%more than their neighbours. for commercial development, and three £16m a year debt for the ongmal and a half miles of desirable riverbank. development costs - that is a direct Under the GLC there were 680 staff When the GLC was abolished, the subsidy to the Trust. working on Thamesmead. Only 370 staff residents were offered two choices: 300 h will h t b Id ff h work for Thamesmead Town Ltd.The job omes ave 0 e so 0 eac losses, changes in working conditions • The "Greenwich option" which was a year for the next 12years to pay th~ cost mean less service to the tenants. trust controlled jointly by L.B.Greenwich of the sale to the Trust. They estunate councillors and elected representatives £3.5m a year from the sale of assets and Before privatisation, 1000people a year from Thamesmead residents. £5.3m a year from rents based on the were housed on Thamesmead through hope that Thamesmead will be able to the LondonMobilityScheme. Itis forecast • The Thamesmead Community Trust cash in on rising house prices in nearby that only 30-50 a year will be housed which was described as "independent", Docklands. The financial set-up of the there in the future, because the Trust and would have a a majority of tenants company means that no new housing to prefers to sell empty houses than let representatives on the Board. Clive let can be built, and they will have to sell them. Thornton, ex Chief Executive of the Abbey NationalBuildingSociety and The --mg housing. • t~ Daily Mirror was brought in by Thatcher to establish it. CHEATED lhamesmead res,den I The tenants and residents voted for the Thamesmead CommunityTrust, because they thought they would have more control. Within two months of the ballot, \oca\ author\t~\an,~~~~~ instead of a trust a private company cent th~ t the votIng called Thamesmead Town Limited was want set up. It has no shareholders, and relies the support n_tAMESMEAO'S resideots at its resid on loans from private bankers, on which s wn MO have given the thUf1\b -do to The 7HAM it has to pay interest. Tenants the private campanv y,/hich firmS that ESiVi~~;~:~'~~ r representatives are on the Board for life tOO"-over their tOWn aite the own~r-Oc Greater london CO\.locil was up 40 pe as Directors, and cannot be removed. WhICh S shoO.hed. ed The three Executive Directors - In a MORI poll calT\fWsslon Govern bV London HOUSIng UnIt·, 56 baUot THE FUTURE r professional businessmen appointed by per cent s81d they would prete rhame In the next tew w Clive Thornton - run the show. the rented hOUSing on the pel cE decided. eeks, the future ot Th estate to be In the handS ot a ...... hO ., on

"to have in relation to ~ _••

NO CONTROL political considerations - the company's Any chance of the representatives being The Chair of the Company is Clive financiers determine the really important democratically accountable was made Thornton - appointed by the decisions. The nine representatives impossible. Many decisions are taken in Government before the company was set elected by the tenants and residents are the secret parts of the Agenda, and up or the other Directors elected. It is completely dominated by the financial tenants representatives are not allowed easy to see his attitude: considerations and the three executive to criticise or discuss the Board's The three Executive Directors who run directors. decisions in public - ie they could not the Trust are Phillip Glascoe - Chief act as councillors do. Tenants either go When the senior elected residents' along withthe executives or they get out. Executive on £30,000 p.a., Christopher representative and Vice Chair of the Pendrill - seconded from National Company, Jim Woodrow resigned he "The difficultyis that people elected from Westminster Bank, and Maurice Tucker stated that the voters on Thamesmead a community tend to think that local - a civil servant paid for by the Dept of had expected real control "But what authority considerations apply. Of course the Environment to be Company they've got is a private company, acting they don't. We're a commercial company. Secretary. as a private landlord ... the board's just We don't get money from the rates. We The Trust that the people ofThamesmead a rubber stamp ... The company should have to deal withfinancial organisations". voted for was changed into a private be subordinate to the democratically CLIVETHORNTON company in order to raise the money from elected trust, not the other way round" the City. There is no room for social or (LHNJuly 87). (Thanks to Community Action for the information)

"We were hoodwinked. 'We thought we were voting to take control of our own Bves. Instead we are controUed by a private company." Jim Wqodrow.

National tenants rally against Housing Bill 1988 Philip Wolmuth WE'RE NOT FOR SALE Scat Publications 45 STOCKBRIDGE .FIASCO

Not long after the Toxteth Riots, Michael Heseltine took a bus load of businessmen on a tour of Cantril FarmEstate, and challenged them to come upwith ideas and private cash to putintourbanregeneration. Cantril Farm - renamed 5tockbridge Village - was supposed to prove that the private sector can rescue rundown council estates. But it has failed. Instead its a story of how public money has been used to make private profits. It's an important story for tenants Abbey National agreed to give fighting estate sales. mortgages to tenants wanting the right to buy their homes - at normal rates of In April 1983,Cantril Farm Estate - 3000 interest whilst Barclays gave SVTa £2m neglected homes on a overspill estate, 10 MULTI-MILLION POUND overdraft. Barratts agreed to buy three miles from Liverpool - were sold off to DEAL tower blocks and build 600 new homes Stockbridge Village Trust, a private non- The estate was sold to the Stockbridge for sale, in exchange for getting all the profit making company with two Village Trust (SVT)for only £7.4m-less development and refurbishment con- associated housing associations. than half the Council's outstanding debt. tracts. The plan was to demolish some homes, Butlater said to be at least £2.4mtoo high, The SVT capital investment programme refurbish others for sale and rent, sell and some claim it had a "negative value". was paid for initially with public grants 'spare' land, sell three tower blocks, The Government had to write off the (plus a subsidised transfer price), and redevelop the central area, improve the £7.4m still owing. later relied on selling off property. The shopping and leisure provision and the SVT borrowed £2m from Barclays Bank Revenue Account should have been "self- general environmentofthe whole estate. and £3m from Abbey Nationalto buy the financing" i.e. rents income would be estate.Knowsley has a £2.4mmortgage- enough to payoff the mortgage HIGH FLIERS in effect giving up the capital receipts repayments and improvement costs. The plan was drawn up by: from selling the estate. Unfortunately this did not work! • Tom Baron, ex-housing advisor to Heseltine, and Chairman of Christian Salvesen Properties. He became Chief TORIES CONTINUALLY USE FLAWED MODEL Executive of the Trust. The basic financial idea was that an initial public and private investment • Clive Thornton, then Chief Executive in improving the houses and estate would produce higher house prices of Abbey National Building Society and who went on to be the Chief Executive and land values, and increased rents, and that SVT would be able to of Thamesmead Town Ltd, that other recoup their investment by selling off vacant homes and development notorious....failure of the privatised land, and then re-invest that money in doing up more homes. This is the solution. model that is repeated - unsuccessfully - in Thamesmead; and it is • Sir Lawrie Barratt of Barratt clearly the financial logic behind HATS Developments Ltd, an early profiteer of the sale of council estates. When Cantril Farm Estate was sold off, Knowsley Borough Council had only £5.3min their HIP account for all 36,000 council homes. Cantril Farm was one of the bleakest and most neglected estates in the area, in urgent need of modernisation and rebuilding. Unemployment was 49%, 80% for young people, with most people travelling to Liverpool for work, shopping and leisure. Instead of Heseltine giving the Council the money needed to improve the estate and provide local employment, he insisted that the private sector could turn around the estate, where the public sector had failed. He conveniently forgot that the council had had massive cuts in money for council estates. Scat Publications 46 WE'RE NOT FOR SALE

PLANS FAIL They had to let 12 of the 14 new shops ALL THIS FOR WHAT GAIN? rent free to fill them. The Council's The BaronlThornton/Barratt 1984plan: Improved "Social Mix"? Tom Baron had Leisure Centre development cost went blamed the "lack of owner occupiers" for up from £2m to £4m. • underestimated the costs of the absence of the "essential and refurbishing the houses - the costs Barratts promise to invest in a major doubled for the houses and went up six- community building influence of a building programme, providing 1110 fold for the flats in 2 years! population committed to preserving the homes or 32.7% of the total stock was value of their investment". When SVT • underestimated the costs of central to the plan. But there was no took over Cantril Farm, 94%(3055)of the transforming the three tower blocks - written agreement. By 1986, they had 3238 households were Council Tenants. Barratts withdrew and KMBCnow has to refused to buy the tower blocks valued In 1986,half way through the plan, 83.8% payout £2.3mto demolish them. at £lm and only built 126houses or 3.7% households were council or housing ofthe stock. As the DOEEvaluationstudy association tenants compared to 50% • overestimated the number of tenants that would buy their homes - since comments "The incentive of sole target. Many of the 12.5% RTB owners unemployment did not fall, the existing contractor status was insufficient to put were on shared purchase schemes. tenants could not afford to buy. aside normal commercial development Unemployment has not improved. The criteria". community and leisure facilities remain • overestimated the potential for owner sparse. occupiers from outside the area to move By Autumn 1985,only two years into the in. House prices have plummetted, five year plan, the Trust was virtually Tenants were not consulted about any of leaving people trapped and unable to bankrupt. Abbey National refused any these plans. Their needs either for sell. Repossessions and moonlight flits further mortgages. This meant that even improved housing, jobs, transport or have left the famed private parts of the if Barratts did build, no-one could buy. community facilities were not estate with boarded up and vandalised Barclays refused any further overdraft. considered. As the consultants' report homes. And the DOE only agreed to any further said tenants were only thought of as money if all development work halted potential "investors" who had to be • overestimated the number of tenants and proper financial controls were persuaded to buy their homes or pay that would move off the estate, leaving instituted. The DOE financed a higher rents. The report continues "the empty homes that SVT could sell. They consultants' evaluation of Stockbridge type of housing improvements were have only sold one vacant property in Village whose report "Building a selected on commercial criteria to five years. Ironically the more Community"concluded that ''the costings achieve an estate looking more like a improvements were made to the estate, were too low, that the expected receipts private development" so they did not the less the tenants wanted to move, and were too high and the programme timing offer tenants "alternative improvement so SVTdid not have the capital receipts too ambitious". approaches". Instead they informed to pay for improvements. tenants of the plans. "Thiswas an unusual • overestimated the rent levels. SVTis PRIVATE CASH FAILURE approach to community involvement, but a private landlord, and so could only it was designed to achieve a particular Far from being a private sector led purpose: to gain acceptance of charge fair rents. But the Rent Officer regeneration, it has had to be bailed out would not allow increases in rent. Council improvements that would encourage rents inherited from KMBC had been with public money! Originally, £30.54m right to buy sales and increased higher than fair rents in area already. was to be private money and £19.90mof commitment by tenants to their homes." public. Butby 1987thathad reversed. The • overestimated the value of total programme had been cut back to The Trust operates as a private company development sites. The lack of demand £45.75m, of which only £18.63 was with no obligations to the local residents. for homes for sale meant fewer sites sold. private.The rest - £27.12m- was public Decisions are taken in secret and the But there was considerable demand for money i.e. Urban Programme grants Board - with one tenant representative fair rented homes, but at lower site worth £9.8m, Urban Development Grant - is used to rubberstamp decisions. The values. of £6.1m, Housing Corporation grant of refurbishment work is shoddy and way £11.3m. And that does not include the behind schedule. As the financial They alsolailed to have any contingency situation deteriorated, the standard of plans for: £2.4m owed to KMBC,the £7.5mwritten off on the price and the hidden costs of repairs and modernisation have • increases in interest rates - 4% in the increased homelessness, rehousing dropped. Pressure to move off the the two years. tenants and the officer time setting up estate, and to sell homes and land have increased. • VATbeing charged on improvements, and dealing with the trust. although Urban Programme money was The Housing Act 88has learnt the lessons used to bail them out. of Stockbridge Village. SVT finances relied on higher rents. HATs will have powers to put up the rents after improvements, and new landlords will charge market rents. SVTfinances relied on tenants moving out so their homes could be sold empty. HATs will have power to force you out ofyour home, and the HAT areas will include blocks that decanted tenants can be moved into, so their blocks can be sold off or demolished. SVT needed increasing landlhouse values and a bouyant owner occupation market, which Merseyside did not have. All the HAT areas are either near the centre of London and high house price areas, or near UDCs with increased land values and skilled jobs. WE'RE NOT FOR SALE Scat Publications 47 USEFUL .CONTACTS CASE UK (the national tenant and trade Shelter CREDITS union campaign against sale of 88 Old Street estates). London EC1V 9HU Written by: Jane Foot, SCAT, who would like to thank all the tenants who fought the Housing 5th Floor 01-253-0202 Bill(and made the report so hard to write); all the 103Portland Street tenants who fought off estates sales, all members Manchester Ml 6DF National Tower Blocks Network of CASE UK, Tim Shotton and everyone too 061-236-5535 % Community Links 14-18West Bar Green numerous to mention who contributed in many different ways. SCATINALGO Sheffield Sl 2DA 0742-723651 LANDLORD DATABASE Production: Editing and production co- 1Sidney Street ordination by Roger Critchley, First Report. Page National Tenants & Residents Sheffield S1 4RG design and paste up by Anne Barker. 0742-727484 Federation % BillFicken (Chair) Cartoon: John Clarke 0602-609087. ''Weare not for Sale - Part 1" Doncaster Federation of Tenants Associations available from SCAT Publications at above Haywood Room Photos: Andrew Wiart 01-289-8707, Philip address. Price: £1.50 for tenants, £2.50 for 17Prince Gate Wolrnuth 01-960-4052. others. Waterdale Doncaster Typesetting: Bromar Typesetters, 52a High Many other publications available including South Yorkshire Pavement, Nottingham 0602-590238. Public Service Action which has covered more 0302-734577 privatisation stories from a tenants and trade Printing: Sheaf Graphics, Sheffield union point of view than any other publication! Federation of Black Housing 0742-739067. Price £6.00for 10issues. Organisations 374 Gray's Inn Road Date: This report was as up to date as possible The Housing Act 1988 London WX1X8BB at May 1989. (clear detailed guide) Oi-837-8288 Published by: SCAT Publications, 1 Sidney 88 Old Street Street, Sheffield Sl 4RG. LondonECl National Federation of 01-253-0808 Housing Co-ops Price: £2.50 (£1.25 tenants & unwaged) 88 Old Street London EC1V 9HU 1988 Housing Act explained 01-608-2497 (contains ....the DOE and Housing Corporation regulations on approval, Welsh Tenants Federation voluntary transfer etc.) % Edwin Jones 57 Walters Road Institute of Housing Publications Swansea SAl 5PZ Units 14-16Mercia Business Village 0792-469400 Westwood Business Park Torwood Close Coventry CV4 8HK Monitoring Database 0203-474433 On Part IV of 1988Housing Act Price: £6.50 London Housing Unit 1st Floor National Federation of Housing Berkshire House Associations 168High Holbom LondonWC1 175Gray's Inn Road 01-379-7076/4384 LondonWC1 01-278-65711

Housing Corporation James Titckell Monitoring Division Housing Corporation HQ 149Tottenham Court Road London W1P OBN 01-387-9466