Lambeth tenants back Labour investment plan

69% of respondants voted in favour of the setting up of an Arms Length Management Organisation

Residents of five estates in Lambeth have given the thumbs up for a landmark move that will mean an extra £27million investment in their homes. More than 3,000 homes were delivered a questionnaire about whether they wanted to see an Arms Length Management Organisation (ALMO) set up to manage their homes, and 69 per cent of those who responded were in favour of it, compared to only 10 per cent against. Labour Councillors were backing the plan, whilst local Lib Dems have voiced their opposition to ALMO’s.

An ALMO is a not-for-profit organisation that is owned by the council and set up to manage council homes. Tenants are still council tenants and the tenancies do not change, but under an ALMO council homes are eligible for millions of pounds of government grants that are otherwise not available.

The five estates that the new ALMO will cover are Blenheim Gardens; Cowley; Loughborough; Roupell Park; and Waltham. It will mean that millions of pounds will now be invested in bringing homes up to the Government’s Decent Homes standard.

The support for United Residents’ Housing – the new ALMO that will be formally launched in September – is particularly timely, as Lambeth Council recently announced it wants to set up an ALMO to manage the rest of the borough’s housing stock.

This would see the levels of investment planned for these five estates extended across the borough to bring every council home up to the Decent Homes standard, which means they have modern kitchens and bathrooms and are weather-proof. The plan is opposed by local Liberal Democrats who are against the investment because they don’t want the council to work with the Labour Government.

Councillor John Kazantzis, Cabinet member for housing, said:

“It is great news that people on these five estates have given their overwhelming backing to setting up an ALMO, because it means a large number of our tenants are going to get improvements to their homes that will make a real difference to their day-to-day lives.

“I am also delighted that the Labour Council has applied for an ALMO that will cover the whole of the Lambeth, as I am keen to see tenants across the borough get the same level of investment as tenants on these five estates are now in line for.”

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