At today's full Flintshire council meeting, members are tasked with making what leader Aaron Shotton describes as "probably the biggest decision they have to take in the life of this council".

They must choose whether to retain the authority's housing stock and face the financial challenges of bringing 7,500 properties up to an Assembly-prescribed standard or transferring it to a registered social landlord.

The Leader revealed in April it will cost up to £126m to bring the county's council-owned properties up to the Welsh Housing Quality Standard (WHQS) required by the Assembly by 2012.

Since then officers have been studying the options available in consultation with a stock options panel made up of tenants, staff, councillors and trade union observers.

The resulting report, unveiled in a press conference this week, recommends the council support retaining the stock or transferring it on a large scale. Members of the stock options panel voted for their choice in a secret ballot yesterday and councillors at today's meeting will be advised of the result.

If the council decides to retain ownership, it will have to negotiate with the Assembly and submit an acceptable housing stock business plan, showing how it will pay for improvements and maintain the standard for 30 years.

Acting director of community and housing, Neal Cockerton, said it will cost £25,000 on average to bring each property up to scratch.

Officers say it is only viable to retain the stock if they have assurances from the Assembly a reduction in the scope of work would still achieve WHQS, that achieving it by 2014/2015 is acceptable instead of 2012, and the Assembly can guarantee the level of maintenance and management funding at 4.75 per cent per annum up to and including 2019/2010.

Retention means an investment of £456m against and income of £188m, leaving a shortfall of £280m over 30 years. It also means retaining housing debt of £34m and payments of £6m per year to the Assembly for negative subsidy.

If a decision to transfer stock is taken then the approval of tenants will have to be sought in a secret ballot. The cost of preparing the council for transfer if there is a positive ballot will be about £2m.

In 2004 Wrexham Council tenants refused to agree to a stock transfer when polled by the authority.

In the event of transfer to a RSL the debt would be cleared by the government and the RSL would keep all income from rents.

Some staff will be affected whichever option, either by the 10 per cent management cost cutbacks needed to finance the retention option, or in the event of a transfer their employment will be transferred to the new organisation under the Transfer Undertaking – Protection of Employees (TUPE) regulations.

Cllr Shotton told the Leader: "With transfer there is considerable public anxiety and we need to be clear as a council as to is there another option.

"With the retention option we are dealing with restrictive financial regulations and rules not applicable to a transfer company. Under current rules with regard to retaining the council stock, 70 per cent of rents paid have to be put back into the national pool.

"If the council was to choose the retention option there are many financial issues with regard to the pensions fund, quite a large amount of money would need to be found. What members won't want to see is a retention option which would see other services suffer."

Whichever option is taken up, the standard will not be met by 2012.

"With the retention option it would need some detailed negotiation with Assembly officials and ministers," said Cllr Shotton.

"If the council wants to support a transfer model the time it takes to go to ballot and set up a transfer company could take anything between two or three years, so it's unlikely any transfer company would provide the investment for 2012."

Chief executive, Colin Everett, said: "It's a major decision and a democratic decision and we've done our best to present in a balanced way two very complicated options, both of which have risks."

Cllr Shotton added: "The magnitude of the decision members have to take is probably the biggest they have to take in the life of this council."

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