Partnership proposal - Frequently Asked Questions
We've updated our FAQ's with more information, following questions from our customers.
Below you’ll find answers to our most commonly asked questions. If you don’t find the answer you’re looking for, reach out to us anytime by phone 0300 123 9966 or email together@onehousing.co.uk
Riverside and One Housing have a shared recognition that we are better and stronger together; when we combine we will be able to do more for our customers and the communities we serve.
Together we will have the scale to do more, with particular expertise in providing care and support for some of the UK’s most vulnerable groups. We will have a portfolio of properties stretching across the UK and a focus on delivering great services locally. The partnership is also designed to create a joint organisation with the scale to offer more opportunities to our customers and staff, whilst being better able to adapt to the pressures facing the housing sector.
The partnership would allow us to accelerate our investment programme, especially for decarbonisation; spend more on supporting customers with things like money advice and employment; and build more homes.
This partnership is one both organisations have actively chosen because it will allow us to pool resources and expertise, whilst doing more for our residents and the people who rely on our services at a time when the sector faces huge challenges.
Coming into the partnership, One Housing is a robust organisation with strong liquidity and assets in some of the most expensive areas in the country. However, with the twin challenges of building safety and achieving zero carbon, on its own it would have some difficult trade-offs to make, with limited resources for building new homes and estate regeneration. It is looking for a partner with financial strength, so that together we can become more efficient and effective, investing even more in delivering better services and building more homes.
We think our geographies are complementary. Though most of One Housing’s homes are in London and the majority of Riverside’s are in the North and Midlands, we both also have a significant proportion of homes in the South East giving us the opportunity to provide more efficient and effective services in this part of the country – especially for repair and maintenance services. The new partnership puts us in a position to be a Group with a national portfolio.
If we are satisfied that at the end of the exploration and information gathering stage, we aim to complete the merger by the end of the year, following customer consultation and further analysis. Already a lot of work has been completed and both Boards have approved an outline business case and financial plan.
The first two years of our partnership would be a period where One Housing would become a subsidiary of The Riverside Group, with a view to further integration as a single entity once our systems and processes are aligned.
Doing more for customers is at the core of how our partnership will work.
Initially there will be limited impact to customer facing services resulting from this proposal and no change to rents, service charges or tenancy terms. As the partnership develops we will deliver better customer services, accelerated investment in our housing stock and improved tenancy sustainment services.
One aim for the new partnership will be to permanently give customers a stronger voice and more chances to engage with us – there will be a place for customers on our Group Board and our customer facing Committees, and a strengthened forum for customer engagement at Group level. Transparency and accountability are central to the partnership’s shared values.
We have now agreed a consultation process and materials with our Joint Customer Advisory Panel, who has independent support from TPAS.
We will still provide the same level of service to our customers and ensure that resources to provide excellent services are maintained. Over time, and working together, our aim is to improve services for customers and ensure they are engaged in the decisions we make. For example, we will still have local housing teams, support teams and maintenance teams to provide those services to our customers.
Yes, we will consult with both One Housing and Riverside customers, commencing on 6 September 2021, about these proposals before a final decision is made, setting out the implications of the partnership. There will not be a ballot of tenants, but views will be taken into consideration by both Boards before a final decision is made.
The partnership itself won’t lead to the sale of properties, although both organisations may sell properties from time to time as part of our asset management strategies. In fact, the partnership will increase our development capacity in the long term, enabling us to build up to 40% more homes than currently planned.
If you have the Right to Buy or Right to Acquire your home, this will still stand, the partnership will not change this agreement. If you would like further details on purchasing your house please contact Riverside or One Housing directly, whichever is your current landlord.
No, all existing development plans will be unaffected by these proposals and any investment plans will continue.
We will not increase your rent as a direct result of creating the partnership and any future rent increases will be in line with Government guidelines. There will be no impact on your rights as a tenant or leaseholder.
Absolutely not. In fact, it’s our shared focus on care and support services that helped bring Riverside and One Housing together. In the short term, whilst care and support services may change as contracts are reviewed, the partnership will mean few immediate changes to front-line services, and no change in landlord.
Longer term, the partnership should put us in a stronger position to listen to customer needs, sustain our current services, and put in place enhanced services at a time of intense pressure in the sector.
Initially One Housing will join Riverside as a subsidiary and we anticipate there will be little or no impact on front-line staff. The new Group will retain offices in current locations, including the One Housing London head office.
An early focus of our partnership will be on integrating key corporate and support services. Over time we will explore further operational integration, including the co-location of offices where this makes sense and allows us to build a better service.
We will consult with colleagues about significant changes and listen to what they tell us. The new partnership will give our people a real chance to grow and develop as part of one of the country’s biggest, most progressive housing association groups, with the training and progression opportunities this will bring.