L&Q want to continue to provide the best possible housing services for the residents of Grove Park and support local housing providers to grow. We’re proud of what we’ve achieved in Grove Park since 2008 and think that Phoenix Community Housing, as a local resident-led organisation, are well placed to continue this work and provide an excellent service to you. The transfer will also enable L&Q to help fund the development of even more new, high quality homes in South London.

Phoenix was created in 2007 following a stock transfer by Lewisham Council and a positive ballot of residents. It owns and manages 6,300 homes in the borough and has the highest regulatory status for governance and viability.

Phoenix works very closely with Lewisham Council and two councillors sit on its board. This transfer would strengthen local accountability for Grove Park residents. Phoenix would work with the council to improve all aspects of the Grove Park area, building on its successes in Bellingham, Downham and Whitefoot.

Phoenix is locally based and their head office is at The Green Man, which is only two miles away from Grove Park. As a resident-led association, if Phoenix became your landlord, they would be keen to involve you in the decisions they make and the services they provide.

A stock transfer is a process which sees the ownership of homes being transferred from one organisation to another, for example from a council to a housing association. At Grove Park, the transfer would be between two housing associations.

We’re in the early stages of this process and nothing will be finalised without a formal consultation with you about a proposed new landlord.

If it goes ahead, any transfer is likely to happen towards the end of 2021 and we’ll make sure we keep you regularly updated.

In the meantime, your tenancy will continue as it is now, and L&Q will carry on doing repairs and providing other services as normal so please contact us in the usual way.

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

No, your rent wouldn’t increase because of a change of landlord. However, your rent will continue to be reviewed each year as set out in your tenancy agreement and a new landlord may apply rent increases slightly differently.

No, you’d continue to pay any service charges as set out in your tenancy or lease agreement. Any new landlord would make sure you received good value for money for services and would consult you on any significant changes they wanted to make.

L&Q will continue to carry out any repairs and maintenance that we’re responsible for under the terms of your tenancy agreement.

In certain circumstances this could be possible. If you’d like to know if this option’s available, please contact us on 0300 456 9996  or RTB/RTA@lqgroup.org.uk.

Any residents who transferred from Lewisham originally in 2008 should retain their preserved Right To Buy. Any new residents that moved to Grove Park since this date should retain their Right To Acquire. For more information on this, please contact us on 0300 456 9996 or email RTB/RTA@lqgroup.org.uk.

Yes, of course. If you have any questions or comments about the proposal, please get in touch with Eve Mouser Smith on 02081892648 or grovepark@lqgroup.org.uk

We will write to you again before the consultation process starts to give you more information about the proposed transfer and how you can give us your views. In the meantime, please go to the feedback section of the website where you can complete our online feedback form.

As part of the transfer proposals, we need to understand the current condition of the properties at Grove Park.

An experienced team of surveyors from Calford Seaden have been appointed to undertake these surveys and will be visiting Grove Park between Monday 29^th March and the end of June 2021 to visually inspect the inside of some of the homes. They will also be undertaking visual surveys of the external, communal and shared areas during this period.

The internal survey should take no longer than 60 minutes to complete. The surveyor will need to look in every room and may make some notes, take measurements and possibly take photos (with your permission). For your security, they’ll be carrying photo ID and will also have a letter of authority on L&Q headed paper.

To arrange the visual survey of your home, please contact Beth Bosteels at Calford Seaden directly on:

Phone: 01689 888222

Mobile: 07921 234895

Email: bbosteels@calfordseaden.com

As you may be aware, L&Q mostly use CPM in the Grove Park area. As part of the stock transfer proposal, we would work with Phoenix to ensure a smooth transition for residents. One of the things to be discussed is whether this contract will be transferred over or whether Phoenix’s existing parking enforcement contractor will pick this up. More information will be shared about this later in the process.

L&Q will be in touch with Housing Benefit to notify them of our intention to transfer, however we would encourage all residents to notify Housing Benefit accordingly and ensure that any payments are being made to the correct landlord, should the transfer proceed.

Part of the stock transfer process includes understanding the implications for any staff affected by the proposals. In some instances, staff may transfer over and in others, they may be re-deployed within L&Q. We are currently consulting with affected staff about this.

Residents have been given the opportunity to submit feedback to L&Q and Phoenix as part of this consultation process. The Tenant Involvement and Empowerment Standard requires Registered Providers to consult with residents in a fair, timely and effective manner on stock transfers. A ballot is not required as part of a stock transfer between housing associations, however all feedback will be reviewed and taken into consideration before a final decision is made.

L&Q are proud of the work we’ve done in Grove Park and a part of that is the fulfilment of the promises made from the original stock transfer. If the transfer proceeds, it will be on the basis that we are satisfied following both due diligence and consultation that Phoenix will provide a great service to you and your neighbours and will continue to satisfy the terms of the original transfer.

As part of the stock transfer process, we will carry out a comprehensive due diligence process that scrutinises the services offered by Phoenix including their performance, governance and financial strength. We will also deliver a thorough consultation process with you, your neighbours and other key stakeholders (such as local ward councillors) throughout the process to capture feedback on the proposals. The outcome of our due diligence and resident consultation is then shared with our Board for consideration.

L&Q are progressing a consultation process with you and your neighbours in line with the Regulator’s Tenant Involvement and Empowerment Standard. This involves consulting with you on any proposals; capturing all feedback and queries; inviting you to meet your potential new landlord and providing you with information on Phoenix’s services and how they are similar or may differ from L&Q’s. Once we have concluded this consultation and our due diligence, we will share all the feedback and queries that we have collected with our Board for their consideration and to inform their decision. The outcome of the Board’s decision will then be shared with you and your neighbours.