Stock transfer is a process whereby the ownership of

council housing Public housing in the United Kingdom, also known as council housing or social housing, provided the majority of rented accommodation until 2011, when the number of households in private rental housing surpassed the number in social housing. D ...

is transferred to a

housing association In Ireland and the United Kingdom, housing associations are private, Non-profit organization, non-profit organisations that provide low-cost "Public housing in the United Kingdom, social housing" for people in need of a home. Any budget surpl ...

. The term was first used in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. Here 1.3 million dwellings were transferred between 1998 and 2008.

Evolution of stock transfer from 1988 in the United Kingdom

Stock transfer has become an increasingly centralised process. The term

social housing Public housing, also known as social housing, refers to Subsidized housing, subsidized or affordable housing provided in buildings that are usually owned and managed by local government, central government, nonprofit organizations or a ...

was not originally widely used as Council housing outnumbered Housing association housing by about 6:1.

1988–92

There was no special legislation. Chiltern District Council was the first Council to take up stock transfer. 4,650 homes were transferred.

1993–99

An annual programme was introduced.

From 2000 and the Decent Homes programme

Stock transfer was part of a centrally driven programme. In 2000 when the Decent Homes Programme was brought in by the Labour government the policy also made it possible for local councils to privatise their housing stock via stock transfer to registered social landlords,

s or private companies.

In New Zealand

In 2013 in

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

the National government announced the Social Housing Reform Program. One element of the reforms are the transference of state housing stock to the third sector. Criticisms include Salvation Army's Alan Johnson calling the stock transfers "privatisation by stealth". On 31 March 2016 the Tamaki Redevelopment Company became the first recipient of a stock transfer. They received 2,800 state houses in Glen Innes, East

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

. Housing commentator Alan Johnson called the transfers "privatisation by stealth".Alan Johnson, The New Politics of Social Housing. March 2014. http://www.salvationarmy.org.nz/sites/default/files/uploads/20140723SPPUAlanJohnsonspeechMar14.pdf

References