Guidance for Charitable Registered Social Landlords (including the acquisition of Tenanted Housing and Tenants as members of Governing Bodies) - Annex 2

NOMINATIONS AGREEMENTS

Local authorities will want to retain the right to nominate individuals to housing stock transferred to an RSL, inter alia to enable them to meet their statutory duties.

In the case of the transfer of the whole of the housing stock of a local authority, the Corporation and the Commission would accept a Nominations Agreement covering the following:-

1. Local authority to have the right to nominate Nominees to a minimum of 50% of the dwellings which are vacant and available for letting: provided that at all times the RSL is able to consider other applicants.

2. RSL to have the right to interview each Nominee and make inquiries into the economic and other circumstances of each Nominee.

3. RSL to have the right to reject any Nominee if, in the reasonable opinion of the RSL, the grant by the RSL of a Tenancy Agreement to such Nominee would be in breach of the RSL’s charitable objects, or of Part I of Schedule 1 to the Housing Act 1996, or of the RSL’s Allocations Policy for the time being in force.

4. Nominations Procedure should be set down with the proviso as to the circumstances in which the RSL is free to let the property free from the rights of nomination. The general requirements that any nomination agreement must meet are set out on page 3 of this guidance.

5. Allocations policy to be set in accordance with the charitable objectives - in doing so, the trustees have a duty to take into account, in so far as is reasonable, the Local Authority's statutory duties regarding the homeless and people in priority housing need.

6. Detailed provisions as to when a property, for the purposes of the Agreement, is regarded as vacant and available for letting, properties so defined will include the allocation of a reasonable number set aside by the RSL to rehouse its own residents. Such internal rehousing will include transfer applicants, residents being moved because of repair programmes and emergency need.

7. In order to preserve an association’s independence, the agreement must:

• reflect the association’s objectives both as set out in their governing instrument and as agreed by the governing body;
• be approved by the governing body;
• be subject to regular and timely review;
• run for such a term as will enable the parties to exit from it should circumstances or requirements change.