This is a process through which the Council, together with its tenants, leaseholders and other stakeholders, considers a range of possible options for the future ownership and management of its housing.

Housing Stock Options Appraisal in 2004/5

A Stock Options Appraisal was last carried out in 2004/05. The result of this appraisal was that 97% of tenants voted to retain the Council as their landlord.

Why do we need another Options Appraisal?

The Council is aware that tenants are satisfied with Mid Suffolk as a landlord. It is purely as a consequence of the potential restructure of local government in Suffolk (Local Government Review) that the Tenants Forum has requested the Council to support tenants in looking again at the best way of managing the housing in the future.

What has happened so far in 2009?

Steering Group
A Steering Group was set up to oversee the Options Appraisal process. The group consists of Councillors, tenants, staff and one independent member.

Independent Tenant’s Advisor
The Tenants Forum appointed an Independent Tenants Advisor, Rob Williams from ‘Solon Community Network’. Rob acted on behalf of the tenants for a short time to ensure that truthful and accurate information was widely distributed.

House Condition Survey
The Council appointed Ridge Property and Construction Consultants to undertake a small survey (5% of the total housing stock) to validate the condition of the housing. The survey results aim to confirm whether Mid Suffolk's records regarding the condition of the housing are accurate and enable analysis of the cost of maintaining and improving the housing over the next thirty years.

Communications
A set of Frequently Asked Questions were drafted and sent to local newspapers, radio stations, MPs, Citizens Advice Bureaux, Doctors’ Surgeries, etc. Tenants have received information via the Tenants Own Magazine which includes articles on the Local Government Review and the Options Appraisal.

Tenant’s Survey
Solon (Independent Tenant Advisors) surveyed a 5% sample of tenants and leaseholders living in different areas across the district. The survey involved door to door calling, providing clear information about the Options Appraisal and asking tenant’s opinions on: priorities for their homes; service improvements they would like to see; and the future management of their homes.

House Condition Survey
A survey was completed in December 2008.

Stock Options Appraisal Latest News

The Tenants' Forum are planning to ask the Council to look again at the future choices for the Council's homes.

The Stock Options Appraisal, which was completed in January 2009, indicated that a transfer of the Council's homes to a new, local housing    association was the best option, as long as a unitary authority was set up. This now looks unlikely to happen.

The way council housing is funded is changing, which may have an effect on Tenants' choice.

Members of the Tenants' Forum have recently visited other housing associations that were created from ex-council housing, and were impressed with how they run. They have tenants on the Board, and extra money is available.The Tenants' Forum will keep everyone up to date when any more information when it becomes available.

The Tenants' Forum hope to encourage more tenants to help the Forum decide on the best option for the Council's homes – if you would like to know more about the situation or what will happen in the future, please contact a Forum representative- see below.

If a unitary authority is agreed by the secretary of state, following the revival of the Boundary Committee's recommendation (to be announced on 8th December 2009), the Tenants' Forum would go for a transfer as agreed by the Council back in January 2009.

Contact Details

If you have any concerns or simply want to know more you can call any of the following numbers:

Dawn Geeson -Mid Suffolk Council 01449 724753
Sue Green -Tenants Forum 01449 770620/724785
David Spooner -Tenants Forum 01359 270843