PRESSURE groups who have been urging Waverley Council tenants to vote "no" to housing stock transfer, found themselves in the firing line as the council gave the final go- ahead on Tuesday for a ballot of tenants.

Tenants can now expect to be balloted before Christmas on the sell-off of 5,200 homes, valued by the council at £56.3 million, to registered social landlord (RSL) Weyfold Community Homes.

At least 50 per cent of tenants will need to vote for the outcome to be considered valid by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM).

Waverley Council's overview and scrutiny committee and executive both considered the outcome of consultations so far on Tuesday and considered tenants had expressed sufficient interest to proceed to the ballot.

As the full council met, Farnham council tenant Jeremy Hyman, co-ordinator of Tenants WATCH, handed in a tenants' petition which read: "We wish to avoid any further expenditure on promoting stock transfer - money that could be better spent on improving our homes."

But he stalked from the public gallery as council leader Gillian Ferguson told him: "To me it seems you may be worrying our tenants. We have approached them with very detailed and very fair information and the responses we are having are very positive."

Ken Reed, portfolio holder for housing, told the council: "Unfortunately a number of pressure groups, which have had no verification of their figures and assertions, are creating confusion and concern among our tenants."

He claimed that leaflets being distributed contained "misleading and inaccurate information".

"All information issued by the council or TACT@DOME, Waverley tenants' independent adviser, has to be checked and approved by the government, lawyers and the Housing Corporation.

"This ensures that all material issued by the council is truthful and accurate. Unfortunately material from other groups and individuals is not subject to such rigorous tests."

Mr Reed also took a swipe at the South West Surrey Labour Party, suggesting it "desists from making promises to our tenants that it is not in a position to keep".

He was referring to the branch's assertion that the government would change its mind and ensure the same money was available for home improvements regardless of whether councils transferred their stock or not.

Mr Reed said he had contacted David Milliband, the minister responsible at the ODPM, "as I would welcome any move where councils are treated on the same 'level playing field' as RSLs".

He read out the reply, which made clear that to do as local Labour members were suggesting was not on the cards and "would substantially delay the delivery of decent homes".

"If Waverley did not have to hand over around £8 million per year to the Labour government from its housing revenue account, the council would have sufficient funds to meet the Decent Homes standard, and we wouldn't be having this debate," said Mr Reed

"Make no mistake that, in my view, we are being forced down this road by the current Labour government policies."

He continued: "The consultation document details Waverley's best estimate of what the council would have available for improvements over the next five years, ie £35m.

"Due to the 'unlevel playing field', Weyfold will be able to undertake £80m of works. This will include all double glazing of windows and doors during the first three years after transfer. Weyfold is also committed to providing substantially more new bathrooms and kitchens.

"The council would be unable to provide any double glazing or new kitchens and only a limited number of bathrooms."

By last Friday, only 205 tenants had bothered to return a tear-off slip attached to the offer document indicating whether they were for or against transfer.

Of these, 120 were in favour, 34 against and the remainder were unsure.

Of 3,437 tenants canvassed through home visits, 42 per cent were in favour, 10 per cent against, nine per cent did not want to express a view and 39 per cent had not made up their minds.

Kathryn Williams, of TACT@DOME, confirmed that people had been given the opportunity to make their voices heard during the consultation.

"There is a certain amount of apathy - people seemed to be resigned to the consultation, but I think that is because people have been through this before," she said.

The council's housing chief, David January, said: "Waverley is perceived by many of our tenants to have served them well as a landlord, but it does seem to be perceived that this is a way forward that would allow standards to be maintained."

Some were concerned that rents would rise, said Mr January, but he stressed that rent increases would be similar, regardless of whether the properties were sold off to Weyfold.

A further concern was whether the improvements outlined in the offer document would actually be delivered.

"This is a final consultation document which would ultimately be enshrined in a contract between Weyfold and the council and would be legally binding. It is there to ensure that what happens in this document, actually happens," said Mr January.