Thrive Homes and Watford Community Housing agree to merge 

Retaining our in-house teams of repairs operatives and bringing in more people with the expertise to enhance our service.

We will continue to be bound by the government’s rent-setting formula. 

Meaning that there will be more people to support residents and deliver great services.

Giving you more choice in how you get in touch and making it easier to get excellent services from us.

And increase the number of engaged residents who influence our work.  

Thrive Homes and Watford Community Housing will come together to form a new organisation with a new name, which will be your landlord. 
 
You will retain all your existing tenancy rights, terms and conditions. If you are a shared owner or leaseholder, the terms of your lease will stay the same. 

No, you will keep your existing tenancy or lease agreement. There will be no changes to any of the terms of your agreement without your written consent.

No, as laid out in our promise to customers, your rent and any service charges you pay will be calculated in the same way that they are now. 
 
The new organisation will continue to review rents annually, in line with guidance from the government, so your rent level will not be affected by the merger. 
 
Rent increases for housing associations are based on the September Consumer Price Index (CPI). The government has already confirmed that social housing rents will increase by CPI plus 1% each year over the next ten years (starting from April 2026). 
 
The government has also agreed a process of ‘social rent convergence’, which would allow rents to be increased by an additional amount in order to make social housing rent levels more consistent and fair, while remaining well below market rates. Again, this will apply to social housing tenants across the country, and it would have applied to customers of Watford Community Housing and Thrive Homes regardless of whether the merger went ahead. Rent convergence is not connected to the merger and will take effect from April 2027. 
 
Service charges will continue to be reviewed every year too. Your service charge covers the direct cost of services you receive and this will not change. You will get a breakdown of your service charge along with your rent letter just as you do now. 

Nothing is changing immediately, so you should continue to pay your rent to Thrive Homes as normal.

Following the merger, you will be able to pay in the same way you do now. We will tell you nearer the time about any changes you need to make to the payee’s details.

There won’t be any immediate changes to your services. You should continue to contact us as usual to request repairs or support, or to raise issues or concerns. 
 
Through our resident consultation we have listened carefully to your views and they will form key priorities for the new organisation. As part of our promise to customers, following the merger, you will still have access to the full range of services you have now. With savings we make by combining our leadership teams, we will increase our customer-facing teams and retain the local bases we have now – meaning that there will be more people to support you and deliver great services. 

No changes to repair timescales are planned as a result of the merger. Both organisations recognise concerns about repairs and are committed to maintaining current standards during the transition, and we have committed to making improvements to our repairs services in the long term, as part of our promise to customers.

We believe that a single, larger organisation will be able to achieve operating efficiencies and greater financial resilience. This will mean that we can deliver more, improve our services and ensure the long-term stability of our business – providing a more secure future for our customers. 
 
The new organisation will have more than 13,000 homes in Hertfordshire and the surrounding areas. With shared geography and a commitment to providing quality services for residents, this partnership will build on each organisation’s existing strengths while retaining local knowledge and understanding. 
 
Our focus is on doing what is right for customers of Thrive Homes and Watford Community Housing, and people in the local area.  

We believe that Thrive Homes and Watford Community Housing are a natural fit for a partnership as we have a lot in common, including where our homes are.

Both organisations are similar in size and age, and we have a similar history as we were created through large-scale voluntary transfers from local authorities just under 20 years ago.

We also operate in neighbouring areas with significant overlap. While our homes are in Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire, Watford Community Housing has homes across Hertfordshire and North London.

We also share similar values, and these would remain central to the new organisation. We believe in the importance of being rooted in our local communities, delivering excellent services and working closely with residents.

Because we have so much in common, this would be a merger between two equal partners, to create a new organisation that can do more.

We believe that joining forces could allow us to:

• enhance the customer experience through improved services and added resource
• increase investment in existing homes, sustainable housing solutions and energy efficiency initiatives
• spend more on community development projects and improvements to neighbourhoods
• continue to build new homes, making housing more available and affordable to those on lower incomes.

We believe that we will be able to deliver more for our customers and communities by joining together as a single, larger organisation.

To ensure that customers are at the heart of the new organisation’s decision-making, it will be a Community Gateway housing association. 
 
Watford Community Housing is already a Community Gateway organisation, which means that residents can get involved with how the organisation is run, and help make decisions about what we do and the services we provide. 
 
Under the gateway model, more power is devolved to residents. This is written into the terms of the organisation’s constitution, giving residents a strong voice and empowering them to influence decisions about their homes and services. 

No, you will still be able to contact us in the same ways you do now. 
 
In due course, we will update email addresses and some telephone numbers may also change, but we will let you know in advance about any changes that are planned. 

If you already have the right to buy or acquire, you will not lose that right. You will continue to be able to exercise the right in the same way you can now. 

No. The local housing registers are managed by the relevant local authority, so this will not impact your position on the housing waiting list.

Yes, mutual exchanges can happen with any social landlord or local authority across the country, so the merger will not affect your options.

Yes, local knowledge is very important to both Watford Community Housing and Thrive Homes. We already operate over neighbouring areas with significant crossover, so our shared geography ensures that a new organisation will retain our local focus and our understanding of the areas we serve. 
 
As a larger single housing association covering these areas, we will be well placed to build on our strong track record of partnership working with other local organisations to meet the needs of our communities. 
 
The new organisation will also retain our existing commitment to investing in projects and initiatives in our local areas. 

The name of the new organisation has not been decided yet. We will use the feedback that residents have given us through our customer consultation, events and workshops to help inform any choices about the identity of the new organisation, and we will announce the name of the new organisation in due course.

Now that the Boards of Thrive Homes and Watford Community Housing have approved the merger, there are some governance and registration steps that need to take place. We then expect the legal merger to complete on 1 June 2026. This is when we legally become one organisation. 
 
There will then be a period of time to integrate our services to function as a single organisation. We would expect this to take around 12-18 months. 

If you have questions or would like to speak to us about the proposed merger, please get in touch:

• Call 0800 917 6077
• Email merger@thrivehomes.org.uk

No. The merger does not include any changes to shared ownership eligibility or affordability checks, and there are no plans to make access more restrictive. We will continue to follow national shared ownership guidelines, which require assessments to be fair, transparent and based on whether a home is genuinely affordable for the household. 

Both organisations have committed to using clear, proactive communication across multiple channels. 
 
Information about the merger and the consultation has been sent out to every household in Watford Community Housing's resident magazine (Voice) and via a flyer through Thrive Homes residents' doors. 
 
Both organisations have also communicated with residents via email and text message, as well as sharing information on our websites and through social media channels, to help ensure residents are kept informed about the merger. 

Our approach to communication aims to ensure equal access to information for all residents, regardless of how they usually engage. 
 
Both organisations are working closely together and have used multiple channels of communication, including SMS (text message), email and newsletters. 
 
We made printed information available for residents at our in-person drop-in sessions. We are also happy to provide additional support or translated versions of the information on request.  

Yes, the new organisation would be a charitable, not-for-profit Community Gateway housing association. 

There are no immediate plans to change existing contractors. If any changes were proposed in the future, residents would be informed in advance and standards would be expected to remain the same or improve. 

Both organisations are clear that services should not deteriorate as a result of the merger. Maintaining service quality and clear accountability during any transition is a priority. As laid out in our promise to customers, the ultimate goal is for the merger to result in service improvements. 

The organisations are committed to transparency and will share information about merger costs through normal reporting processes.  

If you are a shared owner or leaseholder, the terms of your lease will stay the same. Any service charges or other costs that you pay would continue to be governed by the terms of your lease, and calculated in the same way they are now.  

No. Your lease is a legal contract and will not change as a result of the merger. All existing rights and obligations in your lease will remain exactly the same.

The merger itself will not impact your service charge. Affordability is a key priority and we are committed to ensuring that service charges remain fair and deliver value for money. 

Ensuring that all residents have a voice is a top priority for both Thrive Homes and Watford Community Housing. We will ensure that the new organisation has equal opportunities for all residents to be involved in engagement activities.