Council Housing
Liverpool City Council no longer owns any social or "Council" housing.
On 1st April 2008, the Council transferred ownership of its then remaining 15,500 homes to Liverpool Mutual Homes.
Until the early 1990's, Liverpool City Council was the main supplier of rented accommodation in the city. Changes in Government policy meant that housing associations (also known as "Registered Social Landlords", or RSLs) became increasingly important as providers of housing for those who could not afford to buy or rent privately in their local areas, or for those who needed special housing.
The Government allows housing associations to spend significant amounts of money on houses they own to improve their condition and make repairs to meet what is known as the "Decency Standard". This is a national target which all social housing must meet by the year 2010.
Since local authorities were not allowed to borrow such sums of money and could not therefore afford to pay for such improvements to the homes which they owned (in Liverpool's case, the Council needed £300million), tenants were given the option of deciding who should be their landlord in future - either the Council or a Registered Social Landlord.
Between 1990 and 2008, all of Liverpool's housing stock was transferred to RSLs, with the final 15,500 going to Liverpool Mutual Homes (LMH). If you are now a tenant of LMH, Liverpool City Council is no longer responsible for the maintenance of your home.
In this section:
This section of our website is now drastically reduced, and we can only offer guidance on the following subjects:
- Available housing (choice based lettings/housing allocations):
Although we no longer manage homes for rent, we can still help you to find a suitable home to rent with one of the local housing associations. - Right to buy/home ownership:
Former Council tenants whose homes have transferred to housing associations with Protected Rights - such as the Preserved Right to Buy - may still be able to buy their home in certain cases.