A HOUSING company could be set up by Hart District Council to help people on the housing list get a new home.

Cabinet members will discuss the proposal tonight in a bid to support the 1,326 people on the housing register in Hart.

If approved, the company would seek to provide and manage private homes for affordable rent, give the council the opportunity to directly manage rent levels within its affordable housing stock and to develop a long term business plan which could generate a new source of income to fund other council projects.

Councillor Stephen Gorys, Cabinet member for housing, said: “A few other councils have done it and the idea is to help with the shortage of affordable housing in the district.

“There certainly isn’t enough of it and some of the housing associations are being squeezed by a one per cent rent reduction. This is an opportunity for the council to be a little bit more creative with affordable housing.”

The company would by limited by shares, all of which would be owned by the district council, according to a paper prepared for tonight’s meeting.

If approved, a “shell” company would be set up, with issues such as governance, a business plan and future ambitions to be decided later.