Two Rivers Housing becomes a Community Benefit Society

Last year, we wrote to all our tenants to share some proposed changes to how Two Rivers Housing is managed. It was also a chance for tenants to share their views and ask any questions they may have about the proposed changes.

We received a number of questions from tenants, which we answered in a Q&A document, which you can read here: Charitable Community Benefit Society Tenant Q&A

Our Board met earlier this year to review the proposals and the feedback that we had from tenants. Taking this into consideration they approved the changes, and we started the process or converting to a Charitable Community Benefit Society.

In order to complete the changes, we had to get permission from the Charity Commission. They looked carefully at our new rules to ensure that we will remain an organisation with a charitable purpose once we made the changes. They gave us their permission to make the conversion, and we then applied to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to register as a Charitable Community Benefit Society.

We’ve now completed that process and are officially registered as a Charitable Community Benefit Society.

What’s changing?

We understand that when companies make changes like this, it can cause concern for some tenants. But as we explained in our first letter in December 2024, the change will not have any impact on your home or your tenancy agreement or lease. The team that looks after your home has not changed either.

You do not need to do anything. Your tenancy or lease will continue as normal. If you have preserved the right to buy or right to acquire you still retain this right.

We will remain a charitable organisation and a registered provider of social housing. We will still be regulated by the Regulator of Social Housing. Our purpose is still to provide warm, safe, affordable homes in the communities we serve. 

You can find more information about the changes here: What is a Charitable Community Benefit Society Leaflet

Why are we making the changes?

Charitable Community Benefit Societies are special organisations that focus on helping people and their communities. Like registered charities, they are not focussed on making profits but on delivering services to their communities.

Being a registered charity has strict rules that can make it hard to spend or invest money and creates a lot of extra paperwork. This takes time and resources away from helping our tenants or improving our services.

Many other social housing groups have already become Charitable Community Benefit Societies.

The government has made the rules for Charitable Community Benefit Societies simpler. This means they can spend less time on paperwork and more time helping their communities.

We will still be checked by the Regulator of Social Housing, but we think becoming a Charitable Community Benefit Society fits better with what we do.

You can find out more about Charitable Community Benefit Societies here: Visit the FCA website.