Brighton and Hove City Council will have to make a crucial decision within the next year about the future of its 13,000 houses and flats.

Should it continue to keep control of them or should they be managed by a housing association?

Unlike many other councils, Brighton and Hove has not been a bad landlord in the majority of cases and it is no surprise the tenants would rather stay than switch.

They fear rents will rise and they will have less security of tenure should any other landlord take over.

But the problem is the council is highly unlikely to have the money to repair the homes to comply with the Government's Decent Homes Standard.

A detailed stock survey will confirm the details but it looks as if £70 million will have to be spent during the next eight years for this to be done.

If tenants want continued council control, they will have to join with the authority in lobbying the Government to help provide some of this cash.

They will also have to accept the price of having these excellent, improved homes will be that the rents will have to rise by more than the level of inflation.

In any case, three quarters of the tenants have most, if not all, of their rent paid for in benefit so the effect will not be great.

If the council cannot raise the cash and gets in an association as manager, the tenants have less to fear than they might imagine. The best associations are good landlords and are less fettered than local authorities.