District pays £3.6m to settle claim brought by housing association

A district council has agreed to pay a housing association £3.6m to settle a dispute over properties transferred in 1996.

Stratford-on-Avon District Council sold its housing stock of more than 5,000 units to South Warwickshire Housing Association, predecessor to Heart of England Housing Association, for £54m.

Heart of England claimed that during the transfer process the local authority did not disclose details of noise insulation issues in relation to some of the properties. It said it had incurred loss in relation to the remedial works and that, had it known of this at the time of the transfer, the purchase price would have lower.

In a statement Stratford-upon-Avon said: “The parties can confirm they have reached an amicable settlement of the dispute and the court proceedings have been brought to an end.”

The £3.6m settlement figure includes Heart of England’s legal fees. Stratford-upon-Avon’s own legal fees have come to around £550,000.  

“Provision for this settlement and the council's fees has been provided for and therefore will not have an adverse impact on the council's spending plans,” the local authority said.