Should large and small HAs partner up?

The report, Flexible and focused: the specialists at the heart of neighbourhoods, was commissioned by the G320 group of smaller landlords in London and written by housing consultant Helen Cope.

Seen exclusively ahead of publication by Inside Housing, the report makes the case for small organisations to partner with large associations.

The report said: ‘An actively developing association could, for example, support a smaller association’s cash flow or act as a guarantor for some riskier activities in return for access to the borrowing capacity of a smaller association.’ Larger associations however seem ‘less willing to consider’ partnering with smaller landlords ‘even though there are ways to mitigate their risks’, it warned.

‘The regulator should consider establishing a framework that requires this type of co-operation if larger housing associations fail to engage voluntarily’ it said.

It also found average tenant satisfaction for landlords with less than 1,000 homes is 79 per cent, compared with 73 per cent for all London housing associations, while 72 per cent of tenants of smaller associations think their landlord takes their views into account, compared with 65 per cent overall.

Smaller housing associations own nearly 40,000 of the 430,000 housing association properties in the capital.

The G320 findings follow a report published last year by the Chartered Institute of Housing, Does size matter?, which found little evidence of correlation between size, cost and quality of service.