Social Landlords

Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is owned by a government authority, which may be central or local. Social housing is an umbrella term referring to rental housing which may be owned and managed by the state, by not-for-profit organizations, or by a combination of the two, usually with the aim of providing affordable housing.

Although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the details, terminology, definitions of poverty and other criteria for allocation vary.

The Welsh Assembly Government have created the Welsh Housing Quality Standard (WHQS), which states that councils must improve their stock by 2012. They are to do this by whatever means possible, one of the options being to enter into a Stock Transfer agreement with housing associations.

Tai Calon Community Housing, a Social Landlord in South Wales, plans to invest around £111 million in the first five years after transfer, which is needed to bring homes up to the Welsh Housing Quality Standard. The Council estimates it could only afford around £28 million over the same period of time. Tenants would not be charged any extra for any of these improvements.