星空传媒

In a new publication for the left-of-centre think tank the Fabian Society, Jeff Zitron, director of Hacas Chapman Hendy and a researcher at Cranfield University, argued that transfer votes should be scrapped because the choice on offer was 鈥渁n illusion鈥�.

He said: 鈥淢any tenants are simply being asked to choose between transfer to a housing association or no investment.

Instead tenants should be able to choose between alternative landlords, such as housing associations or co-operative organisations.

鈥淭he housing association and co-operative sector should be the provider of social housing, not councils 鈥� The demonstrable scope of that sector to give tenants greater control should be tapped,鈥� he added.

At the launch of the paper, Transfer of Affections: Housing Policy in Labour鈥檚 Third Term, Zitron argued that council-controlled housing no longer gave tenants democratic control over their homes.

鈥淢any of the tenants I meet would question whether they do have a special power over their council,鈥� he said.

He suggested a council should not 鈥渂e anyone鈥檚 permanent landlord鈥�, referring to the conflict between its responsibility to the 鈥済reater good鈥� and the individual, which had led to rents and right-to-buy receipts being used to fund other council services.

Housing minister Keith Hill, also at the launch, reiterated the government鈥檚 support for transfer and its rejection of a fourth way.

He added: 鈥淲e want decisions on the way to deliver decent homes to include tenants.鈥�

Professor Anne Power of the London School of Economics agreed that there should be no fourth option and that councils鈥� political natures made it difficult to manage properties.

鈥淲e should never have allowed political landlords. There should be a complete separation between politically driven decisions and the way we manage housing,鈥� Power said.