Our story so far 

At the start of December 2021, Riverside and One Housing entered a new era, forming a partnership which has seen One Housing Group join The Riverside Group as a subsidiary.

This followed a six week consultation process which asked for customers’ views on the proposal for the two organisations to join forces, based on a series of pledges outlining how we will be better and stronger together and can do more for the customers and communities we serve.

Customers of both organisations were sent an 8 page document providing more information about the proposals and were offered the chance to give their views.

Respondents submitted both comments on the proposal and an answer to the question: “What are your views on One Housing becoming part of The Riverside Group?”

We had an excellent response with 3,632 people taking part. Thank you to all customers who responded.

The results showed that, overall, four times as many customers who expressed a view either way, were in favour as were against.

The results and responses were shared with our Joint Customer Advisory Panel (JCAP), the group of customers from both organisations covering a range of tenure types who helped to guide the process.

Along with detailed information about the case for coming together, the consultation responses were then presented to the Boards of both organisation on November 10 for a decision on whether to proceed.

Both boards agreed and now, following final registration with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), from the start of December One Housing Group has become a subsidiary of The Riverside Group.

What happens now? 

Both organisations, Riverside and One Housing Group, continue to operate in the same way – there is no immediate change for customers. Customers of One Housing should continue to use the same methods for all issues such as reporting repairs and other issues, paying rent and service charges and raising other queries.

That said, Riverside and One Housing teams are beginning to meet to discuss how they can potentially work together in the future to improve services for customers, as part of a journey to full integration.

Richard Hill, Chief Executive of One Housing, is leading on co-ordinating that work.

The aim is to form one, fully-merged organisation by December 2023

Are customers involved?

Of course. Customers were involved throughout the consultation on the partnership and will continue to be a vital part of the process.

During the consultation, a team of 12 customers from a variety of areas across both organisations teamed up to contribute to every aspect of decision making. They had a say in how the consultation was designed, the questions we asked, the way we communicated with you and much more.

That panel have kindly agreed to continue to work with us and contribute to discussions on how Riverside and One Housing can work together more closely. We’ll update you on their meetings and activities throughout the process on this page.

Are there any immediate benefits?

Yes, thanks to the increased financial resilience we’ve created through the partnership, we’ve committed to investing an additional £2.5m in support services to customers straight away to help tackle this year’s rent increase and support customers who might be struggling financially.

Customers who wish to move homes will also soon have the opportunity to register for an internal transfer for a new home with both Riverside and One Housing. This means customers will be able to apply for a move in any area where we own homes except where the local authority has specific local connection requirements. In some areas housing is in very short supply so waiting times may vary.

This will be shared across both Riverside and One Housing.

Our Pledges

The pledges we have made to customers are as follows:

More detail

For more detail and to read the communication sent to all customers please click here. You can also read our FAQs.