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Scottish landlord transfers assets following statutory intervention

A Scottish housing association has transferred responsibility for its homes and services to another landlord following an intervention from the Scottish Housing Regulator (SHR).

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Residents of Wishaw and District have voted 97% in favour of a merger with Trust Housing Association #ukhousing

Housing will now be built on a stalled site in Wishaw after Wishaw and District transferred its assets to Trust Housing Association #ukhousing

Residents of Wishaw & District Housing Association (WDHA), which owned just under 1,000 homes in North Lanarkshire, voted in favour of the transfer to Trust Housing Association, which owns 2,560 homes across Scotland.

Of those eligible to vote, 73.3% cast a ballot, with 97% indicating support for the transfer.

Trust has committed to implementing a rent freeze for the next three years, followed by a further five-year rent guarantee for tenants.

WDHA was told by the SHR in August last year that it would need to merge with another landlord, 18 months after the regulator first intervened over serious governance failures.

The regulator originally appointed a statutory manager and five members to WDHA’s governing body, with three more brought in during last year to support the transfer process.


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According to the regulator, WDHA’s problems stemmed from a site it bought for £1m in 2010 but failed to develop.

The housing association said Trust will deliver new homes on the stalled site and will investigate opportunities to build other new affordable homes in the local area.

The organisation’s frontline staff team will remain in place and a new local area committee will oversee the delivery of the transfer promises.

Ian Brennan, director of regulation at the SHR, said: “Wishaw and District’s tenants voted overwhelmingly in favour of the decision to transfer to Trust and we have ended our intervention now that it is complete.

“During our intervention, Wishaw and District worked constructively with the statutory manager and appointees to address its governance and financial management issues and to deliver the transfer.

“We will monitor how Trust delivers its commitments to Wishaw and District’s former tenants.”

Julia Mulloy, chair at WDHA, said: “A great deal of hard work has been carried out over the past year by the board of directors and staff team, supported by Mags Lightbody, the statutory manager appointed by the SHR, to get us to this point.

“I would like to express my sincere thanks to everyone involved for this. I would also like to thank Wishaw and District’s tenants, other customers and shareholding members for the positive contribution that they made to the development of the transfer proposal and for their active participation in the consultation and tenant ballot processes.

“This was vital in developing and agreeing a set of transfer promises that will deliver real long-term benefits for existing and future tenants.”

Rhona McLeod, chief executive at Trust, said: “I am delighted that we have now been able to successfully conclude the transfer process and I would like to express a warm welcome to Trust to Wishaw and District’s tenants, other customers and staff team.

“The outcome of the recent tenant ballot, with 97% voting in support the transfer, provided a clear mandate for change.

“We are now ready and mobilised to start to deliver on the transfer commitments that we made to the tenants.”