Questions to ask community housing organisations

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RURAL AFFORDABLE HOUSING ON RURAL EXCEPTION SITES

A HANDS-ON GUIDE FOR LANDOWNERS

Questions to ask community housing organisations

Community housing organisations can be Community Land Trusts (CLT), Co-operatives, Cohousing groups. These can all take different legal forms, the most common is a Community Benefit Society, but they may also be a charity or a Community Interest Company (CIC). The questions you ask and information you should seek are common to all of them, but the sources of the information vary. In some cases, a community housing organisation may approach you, but still not be fully legally incorporated. This should not be a game changer, but you could still use these questions to check what they plan to do and that they have given the matter serious consideration. • Ask for a copy of their latest Business Plan and annual accounts. • Ask what is their legal form. If they are not yet incorporated what form they intend to take and why they have chosen this entity. • W  here they are incorporated ask for details of their objectives, membership and governance arrangements. For a more detailed investigation you could ask to see their governing document, for a Community Benefit Society this will be their Rules, for a Charitable body or CIC you could ask to see their Memorandum and Articles. • T  o reassure yourself that the assets (land and homes) will be protected for the benefit of the community in perpetuity ask whether the organisation has an asset lock – you can check this in their governing document, or if this is in place because they are Registered with the Charity Commission • If a community housing organisation is established then they can be looked up on various official sites. A community benefit society will be registered with the Financial Conduct Authority and can be looked up on the mutuals register: https://www.fca.org.uk/firms/mutuals-public-register

Charities can be looked up on the Charity Commission register: https://www.gov.uk/find-charity-information

CICs and Companies Ltd by Guarantee can be looked up at: https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/