COUNCIL tenants in the New Forest are celebrating after proposals to sell their homes to another landlord were scrapped.

The district council has decided to retain its housing stock - and must now find the £47m needed to fund a massive modernisation scheme.

About 700 of the 5,000 council homes in the district will have to be updated to meet new rules laid down by the government.

The Decent Homes Standard says all tenants must be provided with efficient heating and insulation, as well as modern kitchens and bathrooms, by 2010.

Only 14 per cent of homes in the Forest fail to meet the standard, compared with the national average of 40 per cent.

Tthe huge cost of bringing the properties up to scratch led the council to consider selling its entire stock to a housing association.

Other proposals included the creation of an "arm's-length" company that would manage the homes on the authority's behalf.

However, the Tory-controlled council yesterday agreed to maintain the status quo following an inspection of its properties and a major consultation.

Peter Greenfield, portfolio holder for housing, said: "The overwhelming message from council tenants during the consultation was that they wanted to keep the council as their landlord.

"The council can just about afford to do this - if it can find savings elsewhere in the housing budget."

The decision to retain the housing stock was welcomed by tenants across the district.

Anne Murphy, chairman of the tenants' consultative group, said: "People will be delighted that they are staying with the same landlord.

"They're very happy with the district council and don't want to change."

In a survey carried out last year, 93 per cent of tenants said their home was well managed and maintained by the authority.

Pat White, the tenants' representative at the Cabinet meeting, said: "We are being well looked after by the council and have got full confidence in its housing officers."