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Anchor Trust, which has 34,662 homes, Northern Counties, which has 22,000, and Places for People, which has 34,992, have said that they will pay non-executive board members.

Metropolitan Housing Trust, which has 13,124 homes, plans to do so subject to residents agreeing to the plans, and the 20,006-home Guinness Trust is piloting payment in one of its regions before deciding whether to roll it out more widely.

The RSLs feel payment will help them attract high-calibre boards members and will reward them for the responsibility they take on.

RSLs have only been allowed to remunerate their boards since July (HT 4 July, page 7). They do not have to offer payment, and members do not have accept it, but the issue has been one of the most controversial ever to hit the sector.

Paradigm Housing Association is the only other RSL to announce that it will offer payments. William Sutton Trust already pays its board as it is a charity and is allowed to under charity regulations.

I have never had 700 CVs for any position I have advertised before. I was impressed by the calibre

John Belcher, chief executive, Anchor Trust, on board member recruitment

John Beha, chair of St Pancras & Humanist Housing Association and director of consultant Beha Williams Norman, said: "I am just surprised so many people have taken the decision so quickly. I am surprised they have already done all the things they need to do to get there."

Guinness Trust will pay its South-eastern regional board as a year-long pilot but has not yet set a figure. Places for People will offer its group chair £20,000 a year; its deputy chair £12,500; subsidiary chairs who are group board members £7000 and other group board members £5000.

Northern Counties has "informally agreed" to pay, according to a spokesman, but has not yet settled on a figure. Anchor will offer £12,000 to board members and £20,000 to its chair.

Anchor received 700 responses to a recent advertisement for three paid board members. Chief executive John Belcher said: "I have never had 700 CVs for any position I have advertised. I was impressed with the calibre." He was unsure whether the exceptional response was because of the payment.