Arms length council organisations face uncertain future

Arms Length Management Organisations face a loss-making future according to their own National Association.

A report states that ALMOs such as Rochdale Boroughwide Housing and Link4Life may not survive unless they become more financially viable.

The report 'A future for ALMOs - within local communities', recognises that ALMOs can't stay as they are and that many local authorities are already planning to transfer their council housing to a Housing Association.

But the report makes the case for retaining the ALMO model while making the changes to its operations necessary to make it financially viable.

The new areas of work it suggests ALMOs could take on are new build and acquiring houses by purchase, although this would need a subsidy such as Social Housing Grant or cheap borrowing from the local authority; regeneration activities, remodelling estates and replacing unsuitable stock, physical rather than social regeneration; further investment in existing stock, although the report says this is almost impossible on any scale given the lack of subsidy; and assistance of owners in the public sector, most likely as an agent or partner with the council.

The report has a major chapter headed How community ownership could refresh ALMOs that examines new structures for ALMOs based on greater tenant control. These include: Tenant Management Organisationas, Housing co-operatives, the Community Gateway Model, Community Land Trusts and Community Associations.