What is a housing association?
- These are voluntary and not-for profit organisations that provide social housing to those who cannot afford other forms of accommodation. There are nearly 2000 housing associations in England, owning or managing about 1.5 million homes.
About Sovereign Housing Group
- On 1 April 2005, Sovereign Housing Association formed a new more flexible group structure. Sovereign Housing Group became the ‘parent’, and had various subsidiaries, the first being Sovereign Housing Association.
- Twynham Housing Association joined in April 2005 and The Vale Housing Association joined in April 2007.
- Sovereign Housing Group became charitable in April 2008.
- As of March 2008, the Group employed 153 staff directly, with a further 560 staff working for the subsidiaries.
- Overall the Group owns and/or manages 23,000 homes through its subsidiaries.
- Over the last financial year, the Group and its subsidiaries has provided over £114,000 in community funding.
- Sovereign Housing Group set up the Sovereign Development Consortium in 2005 and now leads a group of 12 housing associations, working together in partnership to build affordable homes.
- The Consortium has a development programme to build 1000 new affordable homes each year.
About Sovereign Housing Association
- Sovereign Housing Association was set up in 1989. It began as West Berkshire Housing Association, taking the transfer of 7,109 homes from the District Council.
- It now owns and/or manages almost 14,000 rented and shared ownership properties in the south and south west of England.
- The Association has achieved 378 completed developments in the last year
- The Association manages 25 sheltered housing schemes for older people, offering about 900 homes.
- The Association runs a care centre which provides emergency Careline services to those who are vulnerable or at risk in the community. They also provide their services to other housing associations and have about 10,000 customers.
- As of March 2008, the Association employed 314 staff and had an annual turnover of over £56m.
- The Association has assets of over £700m.
About Twynham Housing Association
- Twynham Housing Association is based in Christchurch, and owns and/or manages over 3,600 properties across Dorset and Hampshire.
- As at March 2008, Twynham employed 77 staff and had an annual turnover of £11m.
- In April 2007, Sovereign Housing Association transferred 1039 homes in Dorset and south Hampshire to Twynham. This means that residents will benefit from more locally focussed and improved services.
- Twynham has assets of over £94m.
About The Vale Housing Association
- The Vale Housing Association is based in Abingdon and own and/or manage almost 6,500 homes in Oxfordshire and south Northamptonshire.
- As at March 2008, The Vale Housing Association employed 169 staff and had an annual turnover of over £23m.
- The Vale has achieved 112 completed developments in the last year
- The Vale took the transfer of 154 homes in Oxfordshire from L&Q Beacon Homes in April 2007. In April 2008, Sovereign Housing Association transferred 840 homes after full consultation with residents.
- The Vale has assets of over £225m.
Sovereign Housing Association, Twynham Housing Association and The Vale Housing Association are charitable industrial and provident societies under the 1971 housing act and are registered with the Housing Corporation.
What housing do we offer?
We provide two types of affordable housing – rented and ‘shared ownership’.
Rented
We work very closely with a large number of local councils and specialist organisations. They refer future residents to us. If you need a home it is best to register with the ‘housing department’ in your local council as early as possible.
Shared Ownership
New Build Homebuy is the new name for our existing shared ownership scheme. If you can't afford to buy a property on the open market, this scheme can help you buy a property on a part buy, part rent basis.
The idea is that you buy a share of the property, usually between 30% and 50%. For this you will need either personal savings or a mortgage. Sovereign owns the remaining share and you pay an affordable rent on this. When you can afford it, you can apply to buy more shares in your home.
If you have any further questions, please contact our Communications team on: 01635 572113 or email: communications@sovereign.org.uk
