Loddon Homes is delighted to have achieved registration as a For-Profit Registered Provider (RP) with the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), who regulates social housing providers in England. Loddon Homes is the first completely council owned For Profit RP – more commonly known as a Housing Association. Only three housing associations have been set up by councils, with only one other being a For-Profit RP, jointly owned by a council and a Housing Association as a joint venture.
Through achieving For Profit RP status, Loddon Homes, which is owned by Wokingham Borough Council, will have additional flexibility to meet the housing needs of the residents of the Wokingham borough, as well as generating a financial return which can be reinvested into new local housing and local authority essential services.
As a housing association Loddon Homes will be governed by the HCA’s Standards, ensuring it meets the HCA’s requirements for strong governance and financial viability, as well as well-managed and maintained homes that are expected of all affordable housing providers in England.
“The entire team and Board at Loddon Homes are enormously proud to become the first wholly council owned For Profit Registered Provider with the HCA,” said Cllr Gary Cowan, Chair of Loddon Homes.
“Loddon Homes gives us an additional organisation and increased flexibility to provide the housing our borough needs, while also helping us to work towards providing a funding stream for essential council support to residents in a time of austerity for public services. As an elected Councillor, I am thrilled to be the Chairman of an organisation where the real beneficiaries of our registration will be Wokingham Borough residents, both young and old, as we build and let our new homes to local people who need affordable housing.
“I’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone who supported and advised us during the application process. We worked hard to meet the tougher registration criteria of the HCA, but it was worth it and has helped us build a new strong organisation to meet the challenges of delivering affordable housing in the fast changing housing policy environment.”
In addition to Gary Cowan, the Loddon Homes Board of Directors also consists of a number of independent Non-Executive Directors, appointed on their expertise and experience in housing.
Loddon Homes was established in 2014 to own and manage homes developed by its parent company, Wokingham Housing Limited (WHL) – a Local Housing Company also owned by the Council.
Loddon Homes has commissioned WHL to build a 34 apartment Extra Care scheme for older people in Woodley in Wokingham, due for completion in autumn 2017, to add to its existing 16 homes at two schemes it already owns for supported housing residents.