§ Mr. Frank Allaunasked the Secretary of State for the Environment, in view of the fact that in some areas rent officers are fixing fair rents for housing association houses and flats far above those for identical council property, particularly in New Towns, if he will consider transferring rent fixing on housing association properties to local authorities and by relation to council, and not private, rents in the area.
§ Mr. FreesonWe are considering in the context of the housing policy review the problems arising in some places from the disparity between the rents registered for housing associations and the rents of comparable local authority housing. The latter are of course affected by the pooling of rents for old and new property and by the willingness of local authorities making rate fund contributions to the housing revenue accounts.