星空传媒

The Housing Corporation is facing a multi-million pound bill to fund discounts for the 15,000 social housing tenants the government predicts will want to buy homes under its 鈥渟ocial homebuy鈥� scheme.

The corporation will administer the programme, which was launched on Monday by deputy prime minister John Prescott as a key plank of the ODPM鈥檚 five-year plan 鈥淗omes for All鈥�.

Jon Rouse, the corporation鈥檚 chief executive, hinted that the corporation would get extra funds from the Treasury to cover new costs. 鈥淔igures are constrained by the 2004 comprehensive spending review settlement, but this will clearly change as most of the social homebuy requirement will fall in the 2006 spending review period,鈥� he said.

The ODPM declined to say whether it would give more money to the corporation to fund social homebuy and said the proposals would go out for consultation.

Senior sources have indicated that the level of discount on offer to tenants of councils and housing associations who choose to buy either all or a percentage share of their homes would be about 拢16,000. This sum would be subtracted from the market value of the property before calculating the value of the share the tenant wanted to buy.

The 拢16,000 would be reimbursed to the association or council by the corporation.

Serious concerns have been expressed at the corporation that this figure could run to 鈥渉undreds of millions of pounds鈥�. Even if only 5% of the 300,000 people the ODPM believes could afford the scheme went ahead with it, the corporation could face discount payments of more than 拢240m.

But Rouse stressed there were no figures at present and that these would be worked out in upcoming discussions with the ODPM. He said talks would include whether associations would reimburse the corporation and how they might use social homebuy proceeds to build new homes or buy homes back when they were offered for sale.

The homebuy scheme has provoked mixed reactions in the sector. There are concerns about whether homes that were sold could be replaced and how banks whose loans to landlords are secured on the properties will react. Associations also wondered how they could predict sales and set budgets for future years.

Roy Wallington, director of Yorkshire Metropolitan Housing, said: 鈥淲here do we find the replacement homes? Where do we get the land from?鈥�

With the ODPM indicating the scheme will only 鈥渋nitially鈥� be voluntary another worry is it may not be optional in the long run.

Others have welcomed the proposals. David Cowans, from Places for People, said: 鈥淚t鈥檚 something we should explore if we want to give people choice.鈥�

But chair of the Tenant and Residents Organisation of England Michael Gelling said: 鈥淚f the ODPM intends to get rid of the rented sector, it should just come out and be clear about it.鈥�