Hartlepool Borough Council transferred its 7,509 properties to Housing Hartlepool Ltd.

The not-for-profit organisation will carry out a �107m repair and improvement programme over the next seven years.

The move, which has attracted big state grants, is part of a plan to make all social housing decent by 2010.

In a secret ballot, 4,818 tenants voted in favour of the transfer.

'Good homes'

Tenants have a third of the seats on the management board of Housing Hartlepool.

The town's mayor, Stuart Drummond, said: "The council has believed from day one that any decision to transfer should entirely rest with the tenants.

"We have worked hard to give tenants good homes, but the money will now be available for the repairs and modernisation the homes need to bring them up to the standards tenants have a right to expect and to keep them that way in the future."

Improvements planned for homes include replacement front and back doors for around 7,500 properties, installation or upgrade of central heating in 2,000 homes and new kitchens and bathrooms.