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Sanctuary picked to take over assets from troubled Glasgow housing association
A landlord has been picked to take over the assets of a troubled Glasgow-based housing association after the Scottish Housing Regulator (SHR) identified a number of “serious and widespread” failures in its governance last year.
Thistle Housing Association has identified Sanctuary Scotland, part of the wider Sanctuary Group, as its preferred partner after a bidding process.
The housing association’s 947 social rented homes and 786 homes in the hands of factored owners will transfer to Sanctuary in the next financial year if the merger goes ahead, after a period of due diligence.
In August 2018, the SHR used its powers to appoint a manager and five members to Thistle’s governing body after an independent review found that it failed to meet regulatory standards of governance and financial management. The SHR subsequently increased the number of appointments to the governing body to eight.
Among other concerns, the regulator highlighted that Thistle was failing to meet the Scottish Social Housing Charter in relation to communications standards with tenants and other customers.
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A separate report from the Health and Safety Executive found issues with its management of asbestos, missing fire risk assessments and a failure to manage a major investment contract.
In November, Thistle said it would be working with the SHR to find a “reputable” registered provider to receive a transfer of its homes.
In a letter to its tenants at the time, it said: “We are aware of our failings across many areas of our business… We are sorry for the impact this has had on our customers. The association is deeply disappointed by our failings in these areas.”
Sanctuary Scotland manages more than 7,000 homes in Scotland, around 2,000 of which are in Glasgow.
Bob McGuire, interim director of Thistle Housing Association, said: “Thistle and Sanctuary will develop the proposals for transfer and consult with our tenants and residents.
“I look forward to working with the team at Sanctuary Scotland to progress the transfer in the interests of Thistle’s tenants, factored owners, staff and the wider Toryglen community.”
Pat Cahill, director at Sanctuary Scotland, said: “If the transfer to Sanctuary Scotland goes ahead, we will ensure that tenants and factored owners are placed at the heart of decision-making.
“Sanctuary Group has a strong track record of supporting and assisting housing associations in difficulty, and we believe doing so enables us to deliver our social purpose even more widely.”
