Arms-length management organisation

In the United Kingdom, an Arms Length Management Organisation (ALMO) is a not-for-profit company that provides housing services on behalf of a local authority. Usually an ALMO is set up by the authority to manage and improve all or part of its housing stock. Ownership of the housing stock itself normally stays with the local authority. As of July 2008^[update], seventy ALMOs were managing over half of all UK council housing, consisting of more than a million properties. This number has since reduced as local authorities have taken services back in-house or stock has been transferred, of 2016 there are 37 ALMOs who manage nearly a third of local authority housing, approximately half a million council and ALMO homes.

ALMOs are owned by local authorities and operate under the terms of a management agreement between the authority and the organisation. An ALMO is managed by an (often unpaid) board of directors which includes tenants, local authority nominees, and independent members. At least a third of an ALMO board is normally made up of tenants.

The work of an ALMO may touch and overlap with that of a tenant management organisation (TMO).

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 normally retains ownership of the housing and tenants remain secure tenants of the local authority. Ministers do not give consent to the establishment of a new 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. Unlike a stock transfer to a housing association, councils can transfer management of their housing to an ALMO without holding a ballot, although many councils undertake a ballot in any case.

Through the ALMO Programme, Communities and Local Government (CLG) offer additional resources towards the cost of achieving the Decent Homes Standard to councils which set up ALMOs that were assessed as 2* (good) or 3* (excellent) on inspection by the Housing Inspectorate (which was part of the Audit Commission).

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