Landlord's stock rationalisation programme under the microscope

Published by 24publishing for 24dash.com in Housing and also in Central Government, Communities

One of the UK's largest housing associations will share its experiences on stock rationalisation at the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) Conference in Manchester next month.

Sovereign Housing Association - which manages 34,000 homes in the south and south west of the country - will discuss the findings on the 12 June at a fringe event.

Julian Ashby, Chair of the Homes and Communities Agency's Regulation Committee, will open the event at the Midland Hotel, and Sovereign’s Chief Executive, Ann Santry, will outline the findings. Senior managers from Sovereign will be on hand to discuss Sovereign’s approach to stock rationalisation in an informal setting.

Since 2006, Sovereign has acquired or relinquished a total of 2,700 homes through a range of approaches, including straight disposals, acquisitions through competitive tender, stock swaps and management handovers. In March, it commissioned the ARK housing consultancy to write a report on the projects it had carried out to date and examine what had worked and what were the risks and costs.

“The findings of this study make interesting reading and some strong themes emerge that will influence our future approach. Rationalisation requires two parties to be open and committed to the process, so in that spirit of openness, and in the interests of helping to shape the landscape on rationalisation, we are publicly sharing the lessons we have learned,” said Ann Santry, Sovereign’s Chief Executive.

“There are many potential obstacles, pitfalls and hidden costs when a housing association engages in a stock transfer or swap. At this event we’ll be drawing on our expertise in this area and outlining some of the key steps that a landlord can take to make stock rationalisation work for them,” she added.

The event will take place between 5.30 and 6.30 on 12 June at The Colony Restaurant, in the Midland Hotel, in central Manchester, directly opposite the Manchester Central convention complex, where Housing2012 is taking place.

Julian Ashby said: “in the current climate, stock rationalisation is a useful way for registered housing providers to achieve better value for money. This is a timely report from an organisation that has a great deal of experience in this area, so I very much look forward to hearing what Sovereign has to say.”