Tenants were today appointing their own housing expert to guide them as they decide the future of their homes.

Bradford Council is funding an independent consultant for its 27,000 tenants because of the enormity of the decision.

The consultant will help people decide on the options available - which include transferring homes to the control of a private company or staying with the council.

But a leading Labour councillor has complained to the council's standards committee, chaired by the Bishop of Bradford, the Rt Rev David Smith, about procedures used by the council regarding consultation.

The council has decided on a range of options after bringing in consultants HACAS to review the district's housing. HACAS said the council would need to spend £100 million over the next ten years towards improvements and repairs.

But today Councillor Sue Dewdney (Lab, Odsal) said the £100,000 spent on the consultants' report would have been better spent on council estates and she believed information given to HACAS may not have been impartial.

She added she believed newsletters for tenants currently being produced by the council would "masquerade" as consultation while giving a point of view.

But council leader Councillor Margaret Eaton said the authority was bound by strict rules, as with any major consultation, which were being observed.

She pointed out the council had even gone to the lengths of funding a consultant for the families.

Executive member for housing Councillor Kris Hopkins said HACAS had been appointed by Labour when the group was in control and was one of the country's leading housing experts.

He said: "It is the future of our tenants and we shouldn't be playing politics."

Chairman of Bradford and District Tenants Federation, John Rawnsley, said: "There has never been a more important time for tenants."

He said people needed expert advice and that he was pleased with the funding for an advisor.

He said: "The council has no involvement and is leaving the appointment up to us."

Consultation will take place in the next two months. The council said tenants would be balloted before any decision was made.