A Scottish housing company is set to take its struggle to be recognised as a registered social landlord to the courts.
Weslo Housing Management, based in west Lothian, is planning to seek a judicial review of the regulator's decision to deny its application for social landlord status (HT 31 October, page 20).

Weslo's exclusion leaves it unable to apply for any of the £211m development cash available to Scottish RSLs for 2003/4.

Communities Scotland, the country's housing regulator, denied Weslo's application because the company has four paid staff members on its board.

The body replied to Weslo's application in September, six months after it was officially lodged.

In a letter last month to Weslo chairman Robert Lee, it admitted the company met the general criteria of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001, which gives Communities Scotland the power to regulate all social housing providers.

However, Weslo fell foul of the regulator's own rules, which allow only one paid member on RSL boards.

Mike Bruce, Weslo's policy and development director, said: "We're an exemplary landlord and we're being frozen out here. We have consulted an advocate and we believe there are reasonable grounds for judicial review."

Source

Housing Today