West Northamptonshire Council has approved a plan to bring the management of its 11,500 social homes back in-house, with responsibility for the properties’ repairs, maintenance and support of vulnerable tenants currently managed by ALMO Northamptonshire Partnership Homes (NPH).
A 2024 report found “serious failings” in how NPH met home safety and quality standards, and the Reform-controlled Council voted unanimously to close down NPH at a meeting this week (11th November).
The plans require approval from the Secretary of State for Housing, but would see the council in theory taking direct control of the properties by April 2027.
The BBC reported that “key statistics were not being reported accurately – and a fifth of its properties did not meet the Decent Homes Standard.” It is thought that all of NPH’s staff would need to be transferred to the council under the new scheme.
Council leader Mark Arnull said:
“The staff at NPH are an absolute asset, but there are some issues about how things are being run and they’re going to need to be addressed very very soon.”
The council said 60% of tenants and leaseholders who responded to a consultation were in favour of switching landlord services to the council. The transfer is estimated to cost £1.6m.