 Critics claimed the move amounts to privatisation of council homes |
Council house tenants in Swansea have rejected plans to transfer their homes out of local authority control. The city council proposed a "community mutual" housing association took over the running of its 13,962 homes.
It claimed it would bring nearly �400m investment over 10 years but opponents said it amounted to privatising the service and claimed rents would rise.
Of the 7,847 votes cast, 5,661 (72.1%) rejected the move with only 2,186 (29.1%) voting in favour.
Swansea Council has warned it could now struggle to carry out improvements in future years.
Swansea is the sixth Welsh local authority to put the vote to tenants.
Bridgend was the first council to transfer its stock, in 2003, and this year Rhondda Cynon Taff, Monmouthshire and Torfaen tenants have all voted in favour of transfer.
People in Wrexham rejected the move.
The Institute of Welsh Affairs (IWA) has suggested all councils should go down the route.
The IWA believes maintaining Wales' 160,000 council homes cannot be done without private investment.
The result of the ballot in Swansea was announced on Wednesday following more than six months of consultation.
Cabinet member for housing, Graham Thomas, said: "We always said we would give tenants the opportunity to decide the future of their homes and they have now made their views clear.
"We will now need to consider what else we can do to bring homes up to standard.
"We made it clear that if the transfer did not go ahead, we would try to deliver as good a service as we could, but we would not have access to the extra money to carry out the necessary improvements."
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Tenants have now made their views clear
