Choice and Victoria Housing Commence Tenant Consultation on £28M Stock transfer and Investment Programme
Choice Housing, one of Northern Ireland’s leading social housing providers, along with Victoria Housing Estates Limited (VHE) has today (29 January 2020) announced it will be consulting with the tenants of all of VHE’s 429 properties about a potential transfer to Choice Housing.
The £28m investment plan would see tenants move from VHE to Choice and the Housing Association take ownership of the properties. The investment will ensure each home receives significant renovations and refurbishments to meet the Decent Homes Standard.
Those who do not wish to move over will have the opportunity to purchase their own home or to remain with VHE for the short-term, however they would not be eligible for the refurbishment.
Announcing the commencement of the 12 week consultation, Michael McDonnell, Chief Executive of Choice Housing said:
“This should be welcome news for VHE’s tenants who have long been campaigning for upgrades to their homes. By working together to reach an agreement in principle with VHE, we can offer its tenants not only the improvements their homes need but also a long-term and secure social tenancy agreement that will give them the same access to services and support as all of our other 10,000 plus tenants across Northern Ireland.
“I would also like to pay tribute to the team at VHE who have been working tirelessly on behalf of their tenants to finalise this plan. Together, we will be engaging directly, going house to house and seeking to speak to every VHE tenant over the next twelve weeks to explain what this means for each of them and how they can benefit from it.
“Should we receive support from VHE tenants then we aim to put this to our respective boards for approval in June 2020. We aim to have all the refurbishment work completed within three years of taking ownership of these homes” said Mr. McDonnell.
Launching the consultation, Dawn Purvis the Chief Executive of Victoria Housing Estates said:
“On taking over responsibility for VHE in October 2016 the all-new management team commissioned a stock survey to assess the status of our 429 properties. We discovered that following years of underinvestment the properties fell below the Decent Homes Standard and required millions of pounds of investment to restore each home.
“Unfortunately VHE has not been in a positon to be able to finance this work itself and hasn’t been able to raise the necessary funds, given the large sums required. Our tenants have rightly been calling for the improvements to their homes that Choice is now able to offer them through its proposed investment and I am thrilled that this is happening. I hope all our tenants participate fully in the consultation process.
“For those who wish to do so, we are also in a positon to let them buy their own home, something a number of tenants had also requested” said Ms. Purvis.
If the transfer is to proceed, it will likely take place in the autumn of 2020.
The proposed deal covers all of VHE’s properties across Northern Ireland, including Riverdale (West Belfast), Benson Street (Lisburn), Worcester Avenue (Bangor), Cherryhill, Holywood Road and Clonaver (East Belfast) and Harmin in Glengormley.
The proposals have been developed in consultation with the Department for Communities and the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland. Tenants can avail of independent advice through Housing Rights and Empowering Communities has been appointed to assist VHE and Choice with its consultation with tenants.
Ends.
Media Contact:
Ross Williamson and Kelly McVeigh at Weber Shandwick
Tel: (028) 9034 7400
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Notes to Editors:
Housing is provided for a wide range of different needs:
