The Housing Corporation's annual snapshot of housing associations shows they are getting bigger as group structures gain popularity.
Increased numbers of large-scale voluntary transfer associations, with an average stock of 6494 self-contained units, plus growth of group structures for large associations have led to more units in fewer hands.

The average stockholding leaped almost 11% to 681 by March 2001. But those registered social landlords with between 2501 and 10,000 units experienced the highest increase in stock ownership, with growth of 2% compared with the previous year, and overall numbers up 12%.

The number of RSLs with fewer than 250 self-contained units declined 4%. RSLs with more than 2501 units owned 79% of self-contained units.

RSL-owned stock continued to increase to one-third of all stock, with the highest concentrations in the South-east (51%) and South-west (48%). In shared-housing bed spaces, only RSLs that own between 1001 and 2500 bedspaces increased their average stockholding.

Bigger RSLs were more likely to own bigger houses but they are also more likely to have an above average vacancy rate.

Source

Housing Today