Several housing association charities are seeking to de-register themselves with the Charity Commission because they believe it "lacks the resources" to manage new rules over housing stock.
Until now, housing charities were required to obtain consent from the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) – and exempt from needing consent by the Charity Commission because approval was only required by one statutory body.
But new rules coming into effect as a result of the upcoming Housing and Planning Act, will move the approval duty for registered charities over to the Charity Commission.
This will “severely hinder effective asset management”, according to housing charity Halton Housing, one of those seeking to de-register.
Board notes from housing association Halton Housing, seen by Civil Society News, reveal that concerns about the Charity Commission's new consent duties stem partly from concerns over the regulator's lack of resources.
“This could present a worse situation than exists at the moment because the Charity Commission have never had to do this before and they will not have the resources to do this,” the board meeting notes said.
“This could severely hinder effective asset management and put us at a disadvantage when compared with others.”
A spokeswoman for the trust said it has taken legal advice and confirmed it could change its status from a company limited by guarantee registered with the Charity Commission to a Community Benefit Society (CBS) - a form of charity which is exempt from Commission regulation.
“The Trust could still benefit from its charitable status without being registered with the Charity Commission. This change would remove the need to obtain Charity Commission consent for disposals,” the meeting notes state.
The charity also revealed that the National Housing Federation was “aware of this issue and is campaigning for the Charity Commission rules to be changed”.
“If this change is not secured, then there is the option of changing the legal status of the company,” it said.
In a statement this morning, the Charity Commission said it was aware that several housing associations were seeking to deregister but urged housing charities to “think carefully” before doing so.
Neal Green, Senior Policy Advisor of the Charity Commission told Civil Society News that the regulator “appreciates the potential increased governance and transaction costs for registered charities which have previously not needed to comply with the Charities Act framework for disposals”.
But he warned that trustees would need to balance these against the “inevitable and potentially substantial costs” of converting to community benefit societies.
“Once the changes take effect, most disposals by registered charities that are also registered social housing providers should be eligible for self-certification under the Charities Act. Self-certification is not onerous; it involves taking appropriate professional advice but does not require an order from the Commission,” he said.
A spokesman added the Commission "does not think that our workload in issuing orders will increase dramatically, given the availability of self-certification".
Some 600 housing associations in England are currently registered with the Charity Commission - a third of the sector.
