Q
Am I more likely to be evicted by Herefordshire Housing?
A
No, the Tenancy Agreement you receive from Herefordshire
Housing will give you very similar rights to those you now
have as a tenants of the Council. Most of these will be
statutory, but some are contractual and will be written
into your Tenancy Agreement.
Q
Can Herefordshire Housing make me move?
A
No. You are secure in your own home. Herefordshire Housing,
like the Council, will only be able to force you to move
if you break your Tenancy Agreement.
Q
Will people who succeed have the Right to Buy?
A
Yes.
Q
Which would stand up better in court if I had a dispute
with my landlord - a secure tenancy or an assured landlord?
A
Your tenancy will be an enhanced assured tenancy. This has
effectively the same rights as your present secure tenancy
and the enhancements are guaranteed by the new Tenancy Agreement
that you will be asked to sign. Since no stock transfer
social landlord has ever denied a tenant these extra rights,
they have not been tested in court. It is extremely unlikely
that a court would ever decide against these extra rights.
It would be of grave concern to the whole social housing
movement if this happened and it is very likely that the
Housing Corporation would wish to become involved.
Q
Would any tenant have to move as a result of the transfer?
A
No. As with the Council, as long as tenants comply with
the terms and conditions of their tenancy, they cannot be
moved from their home.
Q
If we have the Right to Buy, would we still have that right
- and what about our discounts?
A
Any tenant who has the Right to Buy their home from the
Council would still be able to buy their home from Herefordshire
Housing. They would also carry over any discounts built
up while they were a tenant of the council and those discounts
would continue to increase with Herefordshire Housing.
Q
What is the Right to Acquire?
A
A tenant of a registered social landlord has the right to
acquire the dwelling of which he is a tenant if:-
•
He/she is a tenant under an assured tenancy or under a secure
tenancy
•
The dwelling was provided with public money and has remained
in the social rented sector; and
•
He/she satisfies any further qualifying conditions which
applied to the Right to Buy (for instance if a tenant had
been a tenant within social housing for a minimum of 2 years,
the amount of discount available etc).
The
Right to Acquire will be available to tenants who become
tenants of Herefordshire Housing after the transfer as well
as to tenants who transfer from the Council.
Q
Why is there space in the Tenancy Agreement for Service
Charges? I don't pay any service charges, why should I with
Herefordshire Housing?
A
If you don't pay service charges now, you will not have
to after transfer unless the service you receive changes.
Some tenants of course have service charges for items such
as warden service, care-taking etc. These will continue.
Q
Will I have to sign a new Tenancy Agreement?
A
Yes. All Council Tenants will need to sign a new Tenancy
Agreement to give them the new contractual rights.
RENTS
Q
Can I pay my rent in the same way?
A
Yes.
Q
Housing Benefit, how does it effect me and where will it
come from if transfer goes ahead?
A
The transfer would not effect any tenants' entitlement to
receive housing benefit. You would still make your application
to the Council and the Council would still make the payment.
Advice on housing benefit would still be available at the
Council offices and Herefordshire Housing officers will
be able to help you with housing benefit, if you need it,
informally.
A major plus as regards housing benefit, is that Herefordshire
Housing would be able to use all of the rent it receives
for the housing service, rather than using some of it to
meet housing benefit payments.
Q
Can I apply for housing benefit in the same way and will
the rates be the same?
A
Yes. You will still apply to the Council and they will continue
to run the service. Eligibility for benefits will not change,
provided your circumstances don't change.
Q
The Council controls its own rents - Herefordshire Housing
will have to do whatever the Government tells them to through
the Housing Corporation. Is that true?
A
No, both local authorities and registered social landlords
have to take into account guidelines and levels of subsidy
or grant from the Department of Transport Local Government
and the Regions (for Councils) and the Housing Corporation
(for registered social landlords). Bearing in mind, both
councils and registered social landlords make their own
policy decisions on rents.
Q
Rents, will they remain affordable?
A
Yes, and the Housing Corporation, a Government body established
to oversee, monitor and register our registered social landlords,
will make sure that Herefordshire Housing's rents are kept
affordable.
New guidelines on rents recently announced by the Government
means that rents will certainly be comparable to those that
the Council would have to charge if the transfer does not
go ahead. The Governments policy is that rents for all social
housing are made fairer and more consistent, with a clearer
link between rents and the quality, size and location of
homes. The guidelines require that within 10 years rents
be the same for tenants whether they rent their home from
the Council or from a registered social landlord (such as
Herefordshire Housing). Rents would therefore increase gradually
over the next 10 years to level based on a formula set by
the Government, whether tenants stay with the Council or
transfer to Herefordshire Housing.
JOINT
TENANTS
Q
I am a joint tenant with my husband/wife. Do we get two
votes?
A
Yes. Anyone wanting to become joint tenants please contact
the Council
GENERAL
Q
If you were me, how would you vote?
A
I can't tell you how to vote! It is important that tenants
make this important choice as it effects their homes. The
important thing is for you to find out all the information
you need to make your choice and then cast your vote.
Q
Is this transfer just a privatisation with loads of profits
to go to Board Members?
A
No. Profits cannot be made. Surpluses must be reinvested
in the business. Staff get market salaries. Not only do
Board Members not get paid, but they give up an awful lot
of their time. They all have an interest in social housing
and have areas of expertise useful to Herefordshire Housing.
Q
In certain circumstances, tenants of the Council have the
right to choose another landlord. Does this still apply
after transfer?
A
No, tenants of registered social landlords do not have the
right to choose their own landlord.
Q
Who gets the vote in the ballot?
A
Every secure tenant who is a tenant before the ballot begins.
Joint tenants get one vote each.
Q
Is the ballot postal?
A
Yes. It will be a postal ballot over a period of 3 weeks
run by an independent organisation experienced in running
ballots like this one.
Q
Will non-voters be counted in favour?
A
No, in order to have a vote registered, you have to exercise
your vote.
Q
Can I vote by proxy?
A
No, you have to submit your own ballot form.
Q
How is the decision made to transfer or not?
A
The ballot decision is crucial. It is a secret postal ballot
of all secure tenants and it is normal for the outcome to
be based on a simple majority of those casting their votes.
However, the Council and the Secretary of State at the Department
of Transport Local Government and the Regions must also
give their approval. There is no formal requirement for
a certain percentage return of ballot papers, but the Council
can only carry on with the transfer if at least 50% of the
tenants who vote, vote yes.
Q
Privatised water and electricity industries are giving massive
salary increases to staff, will this happen with the Herefordshire
Housing staff?
A
No. Terms and conditions for most staff are unlikely to
change. Those for senior staff will be set by Board Members
according to normal standards for registered social landlords.
Q
The homes will all go to Herefordshire Housing if transfer
is voted for, does that include the garages?
A
Yes.
Q
Are all jobs guaranteed?
A
Yes, there will be no forced redundancies because of
the transfer.
Q
Why should I vote? It's a foregone conclusion that transfer
will take place.
A
It is absolutely not a foregone conclusion that transfer
will take place. It is up to the tenants to decide if they
want their homes transferred from the council to Herefordshire
Housing. The Government will not allow the transfer to take
place unless the Council can clearly demonstrate to them
that they have properly consulted their tenants and that
tenants choose transfer.
Q
What about tenants who cannot read or write?
A
These people, and people who are sight impaired can obtain
information about transfer from the council on audio tape.
Tenants who have difficulty writing can ask the Council
or Heart of England, the tenants' independent advisors,
to arrange for an independent person to call around to help
them fill out their ballot paper. The Council is keen to
encourage all of its tenants to make their choice and cast
their vote so that once the ballot takes place, the Council
has a true picture of what its tenants wants.
Q
What action will Herefordshire Housing take against
people who don't pay their rents?
A
Herefordshire Housing will rely on tenants paying their
rents regularly so that it can afford to carry out the work
needed to the homes. If tenants are in arrears, they will
be encouraged to contact Herefordshire Housing as soon as
there is a problem to try and work out a sensible way forward.
If tenants still do not pay their rent, Herefordshire Housing
will (like the Council) adopt a "firm but fair"
policy towards these people and as an absolute last step
could take court action to end the tenancy in the same way
that the Council can do now. This would normally only be
done when a tenant has not complied with an agreement to
pay off arrears without good reason.
Q
What will be the process for new tenants and /or people
on the waiting list for housing?
A
Herefordshire Housing will have an allocations policy, probably
based on the Council's existing policy, and the process
for new tenants and people on the waiting list will be very
similar, if not the same, as with the Council.
Q
Will there be a postal vote for people either on holiday
or in hospital during the tenants vote?
A
Yes, all tenants have a postal vote.
Q
Do people with Possession Orders against them have the right
to vote?
A
Yes, as these people are still regarded as secure tenants.
