Swansea Leader - January 2007
COUNCIL house tenants in Swansea are being offered a lifetime rent guarantee under plans to transfer homes to a new housing organisation.
The pledge means that if council tenants vote for the transfer of Council housing to Tawe Housing – a non profit making organisation which hasbeen established by the Council – their rent will be no higher than Council rents.
It’s one of the main messages in new information leaflets that are updating the city’s 13,500 council tenants on the future of their homes.
The transfer would unlock an extra £195 million to be spent improving homes and estates up to the Welsh Housing Quality standard in the first 10 years alone, and tenants are being offered the opportunity to vote on whether they want this to happen.
Tenants are being promised that transfer to the proposed community housing mutual, Tawe Housing, will mean key rights are protected, including the continued right to buy their council home if they have that right now.
Tenants are being reassured that under the new tenancy agreement it would not be easier for Tawe Housing to evict them.
The aim of the information campaign is to ensure that tenants do understand the facts about transfer, and how it will affect them and their home.
In the first leaflet tenants are to be urged to make sure that they make their decision on the facts.
They are told that transfer would mean a better home, a better estate, more local jobs and a bigger say in how things are done.
They are warned if tenants vote no to the transfer this extra money will not be available.
The leaflet also explains the protection of key rights if transfer to Tawe Housing takes place.
It states that because of the terms of the new tenancy agreement it would not be easier for Tawe Housing to evict them, tenants would still have the Right to Buy their home and they would not have to move out of their home.
Lee Morgan, Head of Housing said, “We have listened to what tenants have told us and there has been a call for more facts to enable them to make their choice.
“These are very important issues for tenants and we want them to have all the information they require.
“We are keen to equip tenants with the facts about the proposal so that they can make an informed decision about what transfer will mean for them and their communities.
“Transfer would mean an extra £195 million to spend on houses and estates during the next 10 years. If tenants vote no to transfer this extra money will not be available.”
Further information is available from the Independent Tenants Advisor – Heart of Wales on Freephone 0800 195 4591 or the Council’s Freephone helpline on 0800 013 1695.
