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Yorkshire council buys 145 homes from housing association
East Riding Council has completed a deal to buy 145 homes from Northern housing association Your Housing.
The council based in the east of Yorkshire will see the homes, 129 of which are for rent and 16 for shared ownership, transferred to it with immediate effect, with tenants’ and leaseholders’ statutory rights unaffected.
East Riding, which covers the area around the River Humber to the north, east and west of Hull, is landlord to 11,500 tenants and leaseholders, but its housing stock has been depleted by Right to Buy – its rented stock fell from 11,345 in 2016 to 11,261 in 2020, despite the authority building and acquiring 348 homes in that time.
Housing associations regularly agree deals to transfer stock between each other and there have been several high-profile deals in recent months. However, it is more unusual for a council to buy homes from a housing association.
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The most recent example of this was in June, when the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea sold Notting Hill Genesis 11 homes on the Lancaster West Estate, where Grenfell Tower is located.
Your Housing said it was now focusing on the North West as its key region and believed East Riding was the right organisation to take over management of the homes.
Mike Stathers, deputy leader of the council and portfolio holder for housing strategy and affordable homes, said: “I am delighted that the council has been able to work with Your Housing Group, Savills Consultancy and Towers and Hamlin to deliver this outcome for local residents.
“I would like to extend a warm welcome to the council as a landlord to all former tenants and leaseholders of Your Housing Group.”
Jacque Allen, chief operating officer of Your Housing Group, said: “Given our strategic decision to focus on the North West as our key region, we felt very assured that East Riding of Yorkshire Council would continue to look after our customers and provide excellent services to them. This formed an important part of our decision to agree to the transfer these properties.”
