Housing association transfers hundreds of homes to new landlord

Published by Ross Macmillan for 24dash.com in Housing and also in Communities, Local Government

South East-based housing association Moat has transferred 361 homes to the Orbit Group as part of plans to rationalise stock in selected locations.

Orbit South - a subsidiary for Orbit Group - has purchased the homes which are located in the Hastings and Rother area.

Orbit South manages more than 13,000 homes in Kent, East Sussex, Surrey and South London.

The portfolio of sold homes includes flats and houses for rent, specialist properties, leasehold and shared ownership housing.

All residents were consulted last year with both organisations saying that they are "endeavouring to make the transition as seamless as possible".

As such it's expected that in many cases Orbit will temporarily use the same service providers for contracts such as repairs and estate services.

Managing Director for Orbit South, Vivien Knibbs, says: “We are extremely pleased to welcome all of these residents to Orbit, and look forward to working with them to deliver the services they need. Hastings and Rother are important areas for Orbit as we already manage over 2,000 homes in the area and are involved in the Ore Valley regeneration project. By increasing our homes through this transfer from Moat we will be able to develop our services and make them better for all our residents.”

Brian Johnson, chief executive at Moat, said: “We wanted to find the right provider to take over management of these homes which do not lie in one of our key local authority areas. The properties are some distance from the nearest Moat neighbourhood office and it made sense that an organisation with a strong track record in housing, good local knowledge and a nearby neighbourhood office took over their management. It was important to us that any decision we made reflected these requirements as well as feedback from the residents affected by the proposed changes.

"Orbit South fulfils all criteria and we feel certain that they will deliver high quality, intuitive and customer-driven services to residents in the Hastings and Rother area.”