Housing associations in the United Kingdom are independent not-for-profit bodies that provide low cost housing for people in housing need. Any trading surplus is used to maintain existing homes and to help finance new ones. They are now the United Kingdom's major providers of new homes for rent, while many also run shared ownership schemes to help people who cannot afford to buy their own homes outright.

Housing Associations provide a wide range of housing, some managing large estates of housing for families, while the smallest may perhaps manage a single scheme of housing for older people. Much of the supported accommodation in the UK is also provided by Housing Associations, with specialist projects for people with mental health or learning disabilities, with substance misuse problems (drugs or alcohol), the formerly homeless, young people, ex-offenders and women fleeing domestic violence.

Funding and regulation

Housing associations in England are funded and regulated by the Housing Corporation, a quango that reports to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. Registered Social Landlord (RSL) is the technical name for social landlords that are registered with the Housing Corporation - most are housing associations, but there are also trusts, co-operatives and companies. Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location within the British Isles Official language English de facto Capital London de facto Largest city London Area – Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population – Total (mid-2004) – Total (2001 Census) – Density Ranked 1st UK... The Housing Corporation is the Non-departmental public body that funds and regulates housing associations in England. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is a department of the British government. ...

A free comprehensive resource of contact details for every RSL in the UK can be found online at www.housingnet.co.uk

Since 2003, in an effort to seek greater value for money, much of the funding by the Housing Corporation for new house building has been channelled to fewer than 80 "developing housing associations" that have achieved "partner status" through Partner Programme Agreements.

Legally housing associations are often Industrial and Provident societies, and may or may not be registered charities. An Industrial and Provident Society (IPS) is a legal entity for a trading business in the United Kingdom. ... A charitable trust (or charity) is a trust organized to serve private or public charitable purposes. ...

There are four industry bodies representing housing associations working in the UK, each covering a respective home nation. They are;

• England - National Housing Federation (NHF)
• Scotland - Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (SFHA)
• Wales - Welsh Federation of Housing Associations (WFHA)
• Northern Ireland - Northern Ireland Federation of Housing Associations (NIFHA)

The NHF (formerly the National Federation of Housing Associations) claimed that at the start of 2003 they had around 1400 non-profit housing organisations in their membership, owning or managing approximately 1.8 million homes across England. 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Management

A feature of housing associations is that, although the larger ones usually have paid staff, a committee or board of management made up of volunteers has overall responsibility for the work of the organisation. A board might include tenants, representatives from local authorities and community groups, business people and politicians. There are more than 30,000 voluntary board members running housing associations throughout England. Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location within the British Isles Official language English de facto Capital London de facto Largest city London Area – Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population – Total (mid-2004) – Total (2001 Census) – Density Ranked 1st UK...

History

They first appeared in the second half of the 19th century as part of the growth in philanthropic and voluntary organisations brought about by the growth of the middle classes in the wake of the Industrial Revolution. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The middle class (or middle classes) comprises a social group once defined by exception as an intermediate social class between the nobility and the peasantry. ... The Industrial Revolution was the major technological, socioeconomic and cultural change in the late 18th and early 19th century resulting from the replacement of an economy based on manual labour to one dominated by industry and machine manufacture. ...

Housing associations increased in importance over the last decades of the 20th century due to reforms to council housing brought in by the Thatcher government, when rules were introduced that prevented councils subsidising their housing from local taxes. This, combined with cost-cutting initiatives in local government led to many councils transferring their housing stock to housing associations. These organisations are often referred to as Large Scale Voluntary Transfer organisations or Local Housing Companies. The council house is a form of public housing found in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. ... Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, LG, OM, PC, FRS (born 13 October 1925), is a British politician. ... A council is a group of people who usually possess some powers of governance. ...

See also

• UK topics

This is a list of topics related to the United Kingdom. ...

External links

• National Housing Federation (covers England only)
• Scottish Federation of Housing Associations
• Welsh Federation of Housing Associations
• Northern Ireland Federation of Housing Associations
• The Housing Corporation
• Housingnet