Former Haringey council leader Claire Kober has accepted a job at a property management company.

Ms Kober, who announced her decision to step down as council leader in January, has been appointed to Pinnacle Group’s senior management team as director of housing.

The company works on regeneration schemes to provide a range of services including managing housing stock on behalf of public bodies and carrying out maintenance work.

It said Ms Kober will be responsible for “the enhancement of the customer experience within existing contracts, new housing operating models, on-going development of Pinnacle’s private rented sector offer, and the refinement of Pinnacle’s leasehold block management services”.

Ms Kober’s tenure as council leader was overshadowed by controversy over the council’s plan to team up with private housing firm Lendlease on the Haringey Development Vehicle (HDV).

The HDV was set up to provide 6,400 new homes in Haringey in a regeneration scheme that would have seen thousands of existing properties demolished.

Its backers claimed it was the only viable way to meet the borough’s housing targets in the face of funding cuts and borrowing caps imposed by central government.

But the initiative was met with widespread opposition from residents and left-wing councillors, who feared the new homes would not be affordable and the developer would lack accountability.

Haringey Labour’s 2018 local election manifesto announced plans to ditch the HDV and set up a wholly-owned company to provide social housing for the borough.

Ms Kober said: “High quality housing is the centrepiece of successful thriving communities. That is why I am delighted to be joining Pinnacle Group as director of housing, ensuring that the company continues to play a leading role in the provision of high quality housing management services.

“Pinnacle Group has a long track record of working with a range of partners to deliver innovative housing services solutions. I’m looking forward to helping the company grow and develop its offer by creating sustainable communities where people want to live.”

Pinnacle Group chief executive Perry Lloyd said: “Housing and community are at the core of Pinnacle Group and Claire’s leadership skills and understanding of the sector are exactly what we need to develop our Housing Management Services division.”