The long-promised break-up of Scotland's biggest landlord began yesterday.

Glasgow Housing Association gave the go-ahead for the transfer of more than 2000 homes to smaller tenant-led organisations, paving the way for its eventual disintegration.

The giant has now effectively - but belatedly - started to meet a pledge given to its tenants and other stakeholders when it took over the city's then nearly 80,000 council houses in 2003. Only onethird of its tenants, however, are now set to do so.

GHA was always supposed to break itself up into truly democratic units but failed to begin to do so amid extremely complicated arguments about its funding and claims of a financial black hole of up to £500m.

The Herald understands that the association - and its would-be smaller successors - have now come to a final agreement thanks to what was described as "soft touch facilitation" from Nicola Sturgeon, the Deputy First Minister and Glasgow MSP.

The landlord will now carry out five so-called "second-stage transfers" or SSTs to local organisations across Glasgow, subject to local ballots by all the tenants affected.

Ms Sturgeon said yesterday: "This is real progress and at long last tenants in Glasgow will be given the chance to have their say."

It now appears some two-thirds of Glasgow tenants - in 46,272 of its current 69,395 houses - will remain in a "rump GHA". But another 31 SST ballots are anticipated, representing 20,985 homes. Those ballots, like the first five, are for transfers from GHA to existing community-based housing associations.

The first five ballots will be for 284 units to go to Ardenglen Housing Association; 529 to Cassiltoun HA; 270 to Parkhead HA; 127 to Glasgow West HA; and 887 to Shettleston HA.

Sandra Forsythe, the tenant who chairs GHA's ruling board, said she was delighted at the move, which was approved yesterday. She said: "GHA staff and the local housing organisations have worked tirelessly for more than three years to make real progress on second stage transfer.

"Importantly, we are also working with the 27 local housing organisations that will remain with GHA to ensure that their tenant representatives have a say in shaping the future purpose and business strategy of GHA so that they can determine the way forward for the 46,000-plus tenants in the communities they represent."

The Scottish Housing Regulator, the industry's watchdog, must give consent for the ballots but is expected to do so.