David Salusbury, chairman of the NLA, said: “We need to be very careful about the commoditisation of housing – people’s homes are not like other products and services.

“We need communities that are diverse with decent and affordable housing that is a mixture of owner-occupiers, social housing and privately-rented accommodation. The concerns of many will be that corporate management can seem distant and not ‘hands on’ or local.

“Just because a residential housing block is owned and run by a large corporate, it doesn’t guarantee that tenants will be better catered for or that standards will improve. Bigger does not necessarily mean better. The Government will need to be convinced that corporate managers can demonstrate their commitment to the most vulnerable in society and the communities in which these people live.”

Salusbury added that this kind of involvement by corporate investors will not root out rogue landlords who will remain under the radar and will be very hard to stop. He said this could drive good landlords out of the sector, reducing choice and forcing families to pay the premium for corporately-managed accommodation with no alternative for cheaper yet decent housing.

He concluded: “There is little sign that larger corporate investors have the appetite to invest in affordable accommodation at the lower end of the market for the benefit of the vulnerable.”

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