Communities and Local Government
A selection of images representing communities.
Direct contact 020 7944 4400- contactus@communities.gov.uk
- Housing
- Decent Homes and housing finance
- Delivering Decent Homes
- Arms Length Management Organisations
Arms Length Management Organisations (ALMOs)
An Arms Length Management Organisation (ALMO) is a company set up by a local authority to manage and improve all or part of its housing stock.
The company is owned by the local authority and operates under the terms of a management agreement between the authority and the ALMO. An ALMO is managed by a board of directors which includes tenants, local authority nominees and independent members.
Establishment of an ALMO separates the day to day housing management role of the landlord from the wider strategic housing role of the local authority. However, the local authority retains ownership of the housing and tenants remain secure tenants of the local authority. Ministers do not give consent to the establishment of an ALMO without clear evidence that the council has consulted its tenants and leaseholders and can demonstrate a balance of support from them for the ALMO proposal.
Through the ALMO Programme, Communities and Local Government offers additional resources towards the cost of achieving the Decent Homes target to councils who set up ALMOs that are assessed as 2* (good) or 3* (excellent) on inspection by the Housing Inspectorate (which is part of the Audit Commission). The ALMO programme started in 2001 and six annual bidding Rounds for places on the programme have been held. Additional investment in Decent Homes under the programme is expected to total £5.7 bn between 2001 and 2010. Communities and Local Government has no plans for further bidding Rounds.
Further information and guidance is available in the Publications about Arms Length Management Organisations (ALMOs).
