Latest News | The Almshouse Association

2026/27 Specimen Outline Budget

Every year, it is important that the trustees of almshouse charities review the weekly maintenance contributions (WMCs) their charity sets for their residents.

To assist members in setting their residents’ WMCs , The Almshouse Association has produced its annual Specimen Outline Budget.

As a first step members will need to consider two elements when setting their WMC:

the financial viability of the charity,
the avoidance of hardships on the residents.

Increases in WMC are necessary so charities can maintain financial viability and continue to provide support to residents and the wider community. Any increase, however, should consider the wellbeing of the residents who must be able to afford the WMC without being caused hardship. Striking a balance between these two demands will help to ensure that the WMC is set at an appropriate level.

The Association recommends that wherever possible members increase their WMC in a way which is sympathetic to the needs of the charity and its residents.

Those of our member charities who are Registered Providers of Social Housing are obliged to abide by the rent formula set by the Regulator of Social Housing i.e., CPI plus 1%. The CPI figure for September 2025 was 3.8% and hence the maximum WMC increase for the period 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027 is 4.8%.

We are also aware that some members will be able to absorb some of the burden of increased costs for their residents. However, it is vital that charities, when considering increasing the WMC, seek to maintain stable foundations not only for the foreseeable future, but for the years ahead.

Our Specimen Outline Budget for 2026/27 can be accessed via the below links:

posted 22 October 2025

In Memory of Christopher Ray

We were deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Christopher Ray, Chairman of The Frederick Ray Trust. His loss is felt profoundly — both by his family and by all within the almshouse movement.

Christopher’s company was always a joy, his wisdom generous and freely shared. We remain truly grateful for all he did to champion almshouses and enrich the lives of their residents. It was a privilege to have known him, to share conversations about his thoughtful vision for almshouses, and to hear his fond recollections of the Trust’s long and remarkable family history.

The almshouse community is immeasurably poorer without Christopher’s warmth, humour, and tireless enthusiasm. He will be greatly missed and long remembered with admiration and affection.

Among the obituaries Christopher left behind was one he wished to see published with us. It is our privilege and honour to share his words here:

Chris Ray died at the age of 66, after a brave journey with Prostate Cancer for over 12 years. He became a trustee at the age of 22 in 1982, serving for 43 years, the last 10 of which were as Chairman. In the summer of 2024 he presented to the guests at The Almshouse Association seminar at Charterhouse in London, describing the establishment of the charity, by the Will of his grandfather Frederick, for the benefit of his retired employees in 1945.

During his time as a trustee, the properties at Rays Close grew from six to eighteen. In May 2018 there was a church service in Bedford, followed by tea on the lawns of Rays Close, and the unveiling of a sculpture by the Deputy Lord Lieutenant. This was to commemorate 100 years since the death of Frederick Lee Ray of the First Bedfordshire Regiment, in whose memory the charity was established.

The next generation of family trustees are already in place, with his daughter Phoebe succeeding him as Chairman. It is a duty that is willingly undertaken to honour both the settlor and his son, who made the ultimate sacrifice in 1918. Chris’s experience and knowledge will be greatly missed.

21 October 2025

Rethinking affordable, community-led charitable housing

Appleby Blue, United St Saviours Charity – RIBA Award Winner

Congratulations to Appleby Blue: A triumph for modern almshouses!

Appleby Blue has won the RIBA Stirling Prize, the UK’s most prestigious architectural accolade. The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), founded under a royal charter in 1837 and recognised internationally, champions design excellence and innovation. This award celebrates Appleby Blue’s success in combining stunning architecture, social purpose, and economic impact, setting a new benchmark for sustainable, transformative housing.

Almshouses are making a powerful comeback. For over a thousand years, they have blended design with altruism, creating homes that foster dignity, connection, and belonging. At their best, they are civic architecture at its finest, an exemplar model of community-led housing.

Momentum is growing. New almshouse charities, including one in Budleigh Salterton, Devon, show this historic model thriving today. More than just homes, they are in-perpetuity legacies, sustainable, community-led housing designed to serve generations.

Appleby Blue proves that architecture with social purpose can be beautiful, enduring, and transformative, demonstrating that almshouses are not just a link to the past, but a vital solution for the future.

Nick Phillips, CEO of The Almshouse Association, explores why almshouses are experiencing a modern revival…

“The remarkable news that one of our flagship almshouse member charities, United St Saviours Charities has won the internationally recognised RIBA Stirling Prize for their flagship almshouse Appleby Blue, has once again placed community-led charitable housing firmly in the spotlight.

You may wonder what persuaded the judges to honour Appleby Blue? We think the answer lies in a unique combination of history, innovation and social purpose.

Beneath the headlines is a thousand-year-old model of community-led charitable housing, seamlessly integrated with contemporary architecture to create spaces of tranquillity, security and connection. Appleby Blue did not emerge from a single idea but from centuries of the tried-and-tested almshouse model, guided by the courageous leadership of the CEO, planners, visionary architects and trustees.

Its almshouse design features, thoughtfully retained and reinterpreted for a modern city setting, have inspired architects and planners across the UK and as far afield as Japan.

What is the “magic” of Appleby Blue?

Is it the shared entrance, fostering neighbourly encounters? The communal benches and tranquil courtyard, alive with trees, water, and greenery? Or the vibrant community, where residents share recipes, art, sewing, and connections with the wider Southwark community?

As one resident recently said, “It’s paradise. I just love living here. I feel very lucky.”

Like many almshouse developments, it is difficult to pinpoint a single feature. The success lies in the holistic combination of architecture, social design, and community.

Standing on the shoulders of centuries of almshouses, Appleby Blue demonstrates that this model is the exemplar of community-led charitable housing, both architecturally and socially.

It is time for almshouses to be fully recognised for their contributions to society. Once in the shadows, they now shine, proving that architecture with social purpose can be beautiful, enduring and transformative. Appleby Blue is quite rightly in the headlines but for the last decade or so, new almshouses have been built round the country at a rate of many hundreds a year.

As charitable legacies, almshouses are gifts to both present and future generations. With new, often smaller almshouses being created, this enduring model continues to evolve, not as a link to the past, but as a vital, forward-looking solution to the housing challenges of our time.”

Further reading

posted 20 October 2025

Recording the next ‘Alms Around’ podcast at Ewelme Almshouses

Nick recently met Jeremy Porteus, Founder and Director of Housing LIN, at the historic ‘Cloisters’ Ewelme Almshouses in Oxfordshire to record the next episode of our “Alms Around” podcast series.

They were joined by Angharad Saunders (Trust Manager) and John Brannan, a resident of the almshouses, for a wide-ranging and colourful conversation exploring the enduring legacy of almshouses, the influence of Chaucer, and the timeless importance of being a good neighbour.

Our sincere thanks go to Dr Tim Wilson, Trustee of the Ewelme Almshouse Charity, for providing such a stunning and atmospheric setting for the recording.

The “Alms Around” podcast series will launch in 2026, as part of The Almshouse Association’s 80th anniversary celebrations, shining a spotlight on the rich history and modern relevance of almshouses across the UK.

Consultants for members

Architects, Project Managers, Health and Safety professionals, Clerking Services, Legal Services, Surveyors, Maintenance Services and more..

The Almshouse Association’s Panel of Consultants provides members with access to professional advice and services. Each consultant has previously worked with, and been recommended by, member charities.

In 2025, we were delighted to welcome several new experts and specialists to the panel. Their details can be accessed via the links below, and the full directory of panel members is available here.

Service type	Company Name	Regions covered	Website
Legal	Brown Jacobson LLP	UK wide	www.brownejacobson.com
	Lee Bolton-Monier LLP	England & Wales	www.lbmw.com
	Muckle LLP	Tyne & Wear, Northumberland, County Durham, Cumbria, Teesside, North Yorkshire	www.muckle-llp.com
	Penningtons Manches Cooper LLP	Basingstoke, Birmingham, Cambridge, Guildford, London, Reading	penningtonslaw.com
	Tozers LLP	Primarily South-West England, England & Wales	tozers.co.uk
	Winkworth Sherwood LLP	UK-wide	wslaw.co.uk
Property Repairs & Maintenance	Darv Ltd	London, Bucks, Berks, Southeast, Herts, Beds, East & West Midlands	www.darv.co.uk
Property Repairs & Maintenance	The 50 Plus Organisation Ltd	Predominately Southeast England	the50plus.co.uk/
Architects & Property Management	AEW Architects	UK-wide	aewarchitects.com
	Brown & Co LLP	Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambs, Essex, Lincs, Herts, Beds, Greater London, Northamptonshire	brown-co.com
	Carless & Adams	UK wide	carless-adams.co.uk
	Corporate Architecture Ltd	UK wide, East Midlands-based	corporatearchitecture.co.uk
	KKE Architects	UK wide	kkearchitects.co.uk
	S + SA Architects	UK wide	ssa-architects.co.uk
Construction and Property Services	Hampstead Building Services	London and surrounding areas	hampsteadbuildingserviceltd.com
Mediation	The Wayfinders Group	UK wide	thewayfindersgroup.com
Timber Frame Supplier & Project Management	Solo Timber Frame	UK wide	solotimberframe.co.uk
Clerking Services	Witlet almshouse management & clerking	Lower East of England i.e. Essex, Herts, Cambs, Suffolk	witlet.co.uk
Clerking Services	PBE Properties Ltd	Northeast	pbeproperties.co.uk
Chartered Building Surveyors & Built Heritage Consultants	Terrace Surveyors Ltd	Glos, Cotswolds, Wilts, Oxfordshire, Herefordshire, Warwicks, Berks, London	terracesurveyors.co.uk
	Thames Valley Surveying Ltd	Southeast	thamesvalleysurveying.co.uk

Members are reminded to satisfy themselves that any consultant’s services, qualifications, and professional memberships meet their particular needs, and to undertake their own due diligence checks before engaging.

Royal celebration for Appleby Blue almshouses

Bermondsey, London – 13 October 2025

On Friday 10th October, the streets of Bermondsey hummed with excitement as His Royal Highness The Duke of Gloucester visited Appleby Blue Almshouse, the striking new development by United St Saviour’s Charity. The occasion was more than a ceremonial visit, it was a celebration of community, design, and a 500-year legacy of caring for older people in Southwark.

Greeted warmly by Colonel Simon Duckworth, His Majesty’s Representative Deputy Lieutenant for Southwark, the Duke was introduced to Nick Phillips and Martyn Craddock, before embarking on a tour of the landmark building.

Appleby Blue, recently shortlisted for the RIBA Stirling Prize, has already been recognised as a triumph of thoughtful architecture, blending beauty, accessibility, and a sense of home.

The Duke explored the sunlit courtyard, the inviting garden room, and the roof gardens, stopping to meet residents and staff who shared their experiences of life at Appleby Blue. He visited a fully accessible flat, designed to enable independent living, and witnessed firsthand how the building fosters both comfort and community.

Later, over tea and cake in the Lounge, residents had the chance to chat with the Duke about their lives at Appleby Blue. Stories of friendship, support and newfound independence filled the room, a reminder of the extraordinary impact of carefully designed spaces and dedicated care.

“It was a real honour to welcome His Royal Highness to Appleby Blue,” said Martyn Craddock, Chief Executive of United St Saviour’s Charity. “This visit highlights the importance of creating well-designed homes where older people can live independently and joyfully, as part of a strong, thriving community.”

Nick Phillips, Chief Executive of The Almshouse Association, added:
“Almshouses play a unique and vital role in communities across the UK. Today’s visit is a wonderful recognition of the work being done here in Bermondsey, providing warm and welcoming communities in exemplary buildings.”

As the Royal visit concluded, residents, staff, and the Bermondsey community felt a renewed sense of pride and inspiration. Appleby Blue is not just a building, it is a vibrant, living community, a testament to centuries of generosity, and a beacon of what thoughtful design and care can achieve for future generations.

_{All photos: Richard Gray for The Almshouse Association}

posted 14 October 2025

Policy & Governance update: Oct 2025

OCTOBER 2025: A summary of the latest UK Government policy changes and news.

1. Tenant Satisfaction Measures Pilot

Earlier this month, the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) published the findings from its pilot study involving small providers submitting Tenant Satisfaction Measures (TSMs). Whilst almshouses were among the participating organisations, the results have broader implications for how the sector can approach resident feedback, performance monitoring, and reporting in smaller settings. The message is clear – small housing charities are fulfilling their role effectively, keeping residents at the centre of what they do.

What this means for members:

The outcome confirms that small providers are not required to make formal TSM returns, therefore, most almshouse charities (unless they are Registered Providers and have over 1,000 units) do not need to submit TSM data to the Regulator.
Note, however, that regardless of size, almshouse charities that are Registered Providers are required to continue to collect TSM data and ensure the data is accurate, transparent and usable to demonstrate performance to tenants (residents) and improve services.

For more information about the pilot – see our response here.

2. Housing Qualifications – Competence and Conduct Standard

The Government has directed the Regulator of Social Housing to produce a standard for registered providers.

The Government has directed that the standard must:

apply to senior housing managers and executives and service providers
have written policies setting out the model approach to learning and development, appraising staff, and managing poor performance etc.
adopt or develop an appropriate code of conducts for those staff
give tenants meaningful opportunities to influence and scrutinise the development of the policy, and decisions relating to the code of conduct, and ensure they are made accessible to tenants and kept up to date and fit for purpose
secure that their Senior Housing Executives and Senior Housing Managers have, or are working towards, a specified qualification, or type of qualification, in housing management and take steps to secure that Relevant Managers of their services providers also gain a specified qualification.

The standard will come into force in October 2026, with a transition period before all relevant staff must have or be working towards an appropriate qualification. The transition period is 3 years for large registered providers and their services providers (1,000 homes or more) and 4 years for small registered providers and their services providers (under 1,000 homes).

Most importantly, it sets out the criteria for who the standard will apply to. Following extensive engagement on behalf of the charity housing sector, The Almshouse Association is pleased to confirm that it will now, not apply to unpaid volunteers (trustees).

For more information, please visit the Government website here.

3. New consultation – Continuing the Warm Home Discount Scheme

The Government is seeking views on the The Warm Home Discount Scheme – which has been a key policy in the government’s approach to tackling fuel poverty and reducing the energy costs of low-income and vulnerable households ever since its inception in 2011.

This consultation sets out the government’s proposals for the new scheme period and is gathering feedback from stakeholders on:

the design of the core elements of the scheme
options for the next scheme period in Scotland
proposals to change the administration of the scheme
a call for evidence on Industry Initiatives
a call for suggestions for future improvements during the next scheme period

The Almshouse Association will submit a response on behalf of its members.

We would encourage members to also submit responses, or to get in touch with any comments or concerns to inform our response ahead of the deadline: 20 November 2025

posted 9 October 2025

Learning from Lewisham

7 Oct 2025: Housing Ombudsman published a special investigation: Lewisham Council must know its homes better to improve services for residents.

Their article below highlights a recent special investigation by the Housing Ombudsman into Lewisham Council, which raises significant issues around how the landlord manages its homes, handles repairs and supports residents. The findings are relevant to all member charities, as they underline the importance of good data, effective complaint handling and proactive management of housing conditions, particularly in relation to damp and mould. We encourage members to read the report to identify potential learning and apply it, where applicable, within their own charities.

Housing Ombudsman Special Investigation

We have released our special investigation report into Lewisham Council.

This follows serious concerns about the way it manages hazards and handles complaints and repairs in its homes in the complaints we’ve investigated.

In 92% of findings the landlord had handled an issue poorly.

Our investigation found issues across multiple areas. This includes:

hazards

communication with, and attitude towards, residents

contract management

knowledge and information management

system failure

During our investigation we met directly with residents to understand the real-life impact of the landlord’s failures, housing officers and the appointed Member Responsible for Complaints.
The landlord told us almost a quarter of the housing it manages did not meet the Decent Homes Standard as of September 2024. The standard is a set of minimum quality rules for UK social housing. This is compared to an average of 10.8% across London local authorities. Poor data prevented the landlord having a true understanding of its issue with decent homes.

Damp and mould is the leading cause for not meeting the standard and a primary reason why residents are escalating complaints to us. The landlord admitted to not using the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) to assess damp and mould or category 1 and 2 hazards. HHSRS is a risk-based evaluation tool to help local authorities find and protect against potential risks and hazards to health and safety. We also found the landlord applying temporary fixes, such as mould washes, to ongoing problems such as leaks.

The landlord has committed to make changes. It is currently collecting information about its properties and the people living in them. They told us it had previously relied on property information from when its housing management came back in-house.

We publish special investigation reports to help other landlords identify potential learning to improve their own services.

Read the Housing Ombudsman’s full article on their website here

Link to report here

posted 9 October 2025

Charity Commission launches next phase of campaign to support trustees

The Charity Commission has launched the next phase of its ongoing campaign to support charity trustees, with a particular focus on strengthening financial management and resilience.

Growing evidence has identified financial resilience as a key challenge for many charities. In response, the new campaign aims to help trustees enhance their understanding of financial responsibilities and improve the way they plan and manage their organisations’ finances.

The initiative promotes reflection on trustees’ financial duties and highlights a range of resources covering key financial topics. These include practical tools and guidance, as well as a Financial Health Checker that provides trustees with tailored advice based on their individual responses.

Running from Friday 10 October to Thursday 7 November, the campaign directs audiences to the Trustee Finance Toolkit, a central resource hub designed to build financial confidence and capability among trustees.

The Charity Commission is encouraging partners and sector organisations to help amplify the campaign’s reach by sharing the tools and materials within their networks. A partner pack has been provided to support this, offering ready-to-use resources for staff, trustees, and collaborating organisations.

Those interested in supporting the campaign or seeking further information are invited to contact Jennifer Cahill, Campaigns Manager, at jennifer.cahill@charitycommission.gov.uk.

posted 9 October 2025

From stage and screen to community support

Community Support – The Almshouse Association welcomes new Vice Patrons

Our Vice Patrons generously offer their name and standing to support the Association, helping to raise our visibility and generate interest in our work. In doing so, they play a vital role by lending their influence, endorsement, and encouragement.

The Almshouse Association is pleased to report the continued growth of our list of Vice Patrons, with recent additions including actor Hugh Bonneville (below left) and musician Jools Holland (below right).

*“I am delighted to support the charity’s work, which provides such vital support across our communities.”* Hugh Bonneville

Hugh Bonneville is a celebrated British actor, known for his stage work at the National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company, for television shows like The Gold and the BAFTA winning W1A and for films such as Downton Abbey and Paddington. Widely respected for both his craft and his charitable work, Hugh brings great warmth and recognition to the causes he supports.

Jools Holland is a renowned musician, bandleader, and television presenter, celebrated for his virtuosic piano playing and as the host of Later… with Jools Holland. Over a career spanning decades, he has collaborated with countless artists across genres, bringing his passion for music to audiences worldwide. Beyond his artistic achievements, Jools is actively involved in charitable work, supporting initiatives that promote music education, community projects, and broader social causes. His dedication and influence make him a valued supporter for The Almshouse Association.

We are immensely grateful to everyone who supports our fundraising efforts

Our Vice Patrons play a particularly valuable role by helping us identify potential supporters, often drawing on their own personal and professional networks. Where connections exist, we reach out to charitable trusts and foundations, with Vice Patrons adding their own insight and personal touch to our communications. This simple, collaborative approach has served us well, and we remain confident it will continue to bring positive results

Beyond fundraising, Vice Patrons have provided invaluable help in other ways, such as assisting with events to promote almshouses, introducing us to public relations experts and raising relevant issues in Parliament. Once again, we are sincerely grateful for their ongoing support.

A full list of our Vice Patrons can be found here.

posted October 2025