GHA 'must hold review on future'

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The organisation behind the transfer of Glasgow council houses to a private landlord must hold a full review on its future, a regulator has said.

Glasgow Housing Association (GHA) took ownership of 80,000 homes four years ago, but drew some criticism over its handling of the deal.

Communities Scotland has rated its performance as "fair" and said GHA had kept most of its promises to tenants.

The association said it had already made significant changes.

Communities Scotland's regulation director, Karen Watt, said the onward transfer of houses to local organisations - known as second stage transfer - had been a "major challenge" and had yet to happen.

Many thousands of tenants now have better homes as a result and many have been actively involved in decisions that affect their homes and neighbourhoods Karen WattCommunities Scotland

"GHA should now lead a fundamental review of its purpose and future direction, including the future of second stage transfer, " she said.

The independent report gave the not-for-profit association - the UK's largest registered social landlord - the second-from-bottom rating for its performance as a social landlord.

It said the organisation's poor rent collection record was getting worse and criticised its performance on letting empty houses and complaint handling.

Despite the concerns, Ms Watt added: "Our inspectors found that GHA has met most of the promises it made to tenants at the time of the transfer ballot.

"Many thousands of tenants now have better homes as a result and many have been actively involved in decisions that affect their homes and neighbourhoods."

GHA tenant chair Sandra Forsythe said the association took its responsibilities seriously, adding: "The inspectors acknowledge that GHA has shown a strong willingness to improve and we've already made a number of significant changes as a result of the inspection process."