Question time in Parliament is bringing to the fore the increased government focus on the Social Housing, Affordable Housing and Private Rented Sector.

MPs are seeing a rise in complaints from tenants about housing conditions that they must act on (see recent example of a Q&A at the end of this article). Almshouse charities could find themselves in the position of receiving a letter of complaint from their local MP on behalf of a resident, to which they must respond.

We are in no doubt that members will always respond in their usual positive and courteous way, however, we have been asked to give a quick bullet point check list that some may find useful.

If you receive a letter from your MP acting on behalf of a complainant:

• Respond quickly – a speedy response often takes the frustration out of a situation and allows the MP to see that you are treating it as a priority.
• If you need time – respond positively but say you will investigate thoroughly and respond by …………. Give a date you are confident you can meet.
• Investigate the complaint or ask further questions of the MP.
• Once investigated, if the complaint is already resolved, check with all parties concerned and be brief but clear in your response, thanking the MP for their interest.
• If the complaint is fair and as yet unaddressed, try to resolve the situation, then, once you have done so, inform the MP that it is either being resolved or has been. Giving a brief outline of the situation if needed.
• Remember, when you receive a letter from an MP, they are doing their job, taking up cases on behalf of their constituency and they may not be aware of the detail or fully understand the situation relating to almshouses. Your response may reassure and impress them and this may actually be a good opportunity to engage with your MP. In the moment, it does not feel like a positive situation but inviting the MP to the almshouse to meet you and meet your residents may have a beneficial long term outcome.
• If you are concerned – if the complaint is genuine and you don’t have an answer – please call us and we will work with you on a solution.

CAF Bank – commitment and dedication

“Commitment and dedication is at the heart of the almshouse movement, with many members having served their communities for hundreds of years. Whilst CAF Bank is, by comparison, relatively youthful at just 37 years old, next year our parent organisation, the Charities Aid Foundation, celebrates its centenary.

Throughout that time, CAF Bank has understood the challenges of the sector and that stems from being part of the charitable landscape.  Our research, and work with charities, and donors, all inform our thought process and product design.  For example, when inflationary pressures, energy costs, wage demands, and a tightening of disposable income all started to form what we now know as the ‘Cost of Living’ crisis, we responded by creating a Cost of Living Resources hub (visit https://www.cafonline.org/charities/resource-hub) as well as engaging with all of our borrowers to see what help they might need, based on their circumstances.

We know that there are further challenges to come. Decarbonisation, affordability for residents and housing quality are areas that continue to be priorities. Members that are Register Providers will already have these challenges on their agendas but they are all the more difficult for those members whose almshouses are historic.  Green loans are very much on our plan for future product development.

That said almshouses do move with the times.  No longer are almshouses solely the preserve of the widowed or the retired.  Housing challenges are ever present in modern day society and almshouses are well-placed to respond to this.  A good example of this is The Poland Trust which recently completed on a once in a generation expansion of their stock.  A real highlight of the project was the average age of the first 4 new residents – around 30.  Those 4 individuals would have likely had to move out of the area they grew up in if it wasn’t for the commitment and hard work of the trustees of The Poland Trust.

Our lending function reached its 10^th anniversary in 2022 and we have come a long way from that initial blank piece of paper and now stand with a loan book of £224m* of drawn and committed balances.  It’s perhaps no surprise that our second-ever loan was to an almshouse and our support of the movement remains.  When The Almshouse Association reached its 75^th anniversary in 2021 we celebrated by committing a budget of £20m of  loans to almshouses with a reduced arrangement fee of 0.75%. 

We have created a dedicated almshouse page (see https://www.cafonline.org/caf-bank/secured-loans/flexible-finance-for-almshouses) on our website where you can find out more information and read case studies. We aim to build long-term relationships with our customers, as we believe this helps them to continue long-term relationships with their beneficiaries.”

CAF (Charities Aid Foundation) Bank, April 2023

posted 12 April 2023

The Register of Merged Charities on the Charity Commission website has just been updated on the gov.uk website.

Listed are charities that have notified the Charity Commission they have merged with or transferred their assets to another charity. The mergers register is updated monthly. To view the Register of Merged Charities, please click here.

For government guidance on how to merge or link charities, please click here. The pages also include information on when to register a merger, when to link charities, advantages of linking, limitations of linking and how to apply to link charities.

Charities can merge by either:

• one charity taking over another’s work and assets
• forming a completely new charity to take over the work and assets of all the charities involved
• one charity taking over the management of another charity but keeping it (temporarily or permanently) as a separate entity or brand within a group.

Mergers, or other forms of collaborative working, can make better use of charitable funds and property and provide better services for your beneficiaries. For example, if two charities in the same area are doing similar work and competing for funding, a merger may be the best way to secure funding and provide a united voice.

When thinking about a merger, you must make sure that:

• the governing documents of the charities involved allow the merger
• all the charities involved have similar aims
• there are sound financial and management reasons for merging.

You will need to get permission from the Charity Commission before you merge, so an early discussion with them or us could save you a bit of time.  You always need the Charity Commission’s permission to merge two or more CIOs.

Posted 6 March 2023

Press releases relating to trends within the social housing movement not only highlight the need for the affordable housing crisis to be high on the housing agenda, but also the opportunities that exist for almshouse charities to make a difference. One such press release has been issued by SHELTER which concerns the loss of 14,000 social homes as follows:

“14,000 social homes lost last year, as over a million households sit on waiting lists” SHELTER  26 Jan 2023

New government figures released today reveal a net loss of 14,100 social homes in England, as demolitions and sales far outstripped the number of new homes built. 

– 21,600 social homes were either sold or demolished in 2021/22, while only 7,500 new homes were built leading to a net loss of 14,100 homes. 
– In the last decade, there has been a total net loss of 165,000 social homes (between 2012/13 and 2021/22).  
– 1.2 million households in England are currently stuck on waiting lists for a social home, a rise of 5% in the last two years.  

Shelter is urging the government to make building more genuinely affordable social homes a central part of its new Levelling Up Bill, and in doing so reverse decades of decline. The charity argues this is essential to combatting the country’s housing emergency. 

Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, said: 
“We are firmly in the red when it comes to social housing. We lose far more homes than we build every year and the losses are mounting up. The social housing deficit is at the heart of the housing emergency.”
“The fundamental lack of genuinely affordable homes has pushed millions of people into insecure, expensive and often discriminatory private renting. It is why we have over a million households waiting for a decent social home, and thousands of homeless children are growing up in temporary accommodation.”
“The solution is simple: build more social housing. The government can’t afford to allow this decline to stretch into another decade if it has any hopes of meaningfully levelling up. Instead, it must invest in a new generation of the homes we really need – secure, genuinely social housing.” 

Notes to editor: 

SHELTER 26 Jan 2023