What is a housing association

Housing associations like Moat, provide affordable housing and services to meet local needs. There are over 2,000 housing associations in England, with around 1.5 million homes. We work closely with local authorities and others to house people in need, build new homes for rent and for affordable home ownership. We contribute to community regeneration, as well as providing a range of services that make a positive difference to the communities where we work.

Housing associations, sometimes called registered social landlords, are run as businesses but they do not trade for profit. Any surplus is reinvested back into the organisation to maintain existing homes to a high standard and to help finance new ones.

Housing associations are managed by a board of management made up of volunteers. These boards have overall responsibility for the work of the organisation. Board members may include residents, representatives from local authorities, community groups, business people and politicians. There are more than 30,000 voluntary board members running housing associations throughout England.

All registered housing associations, including Moat, are regulated by The Housing Corporation, a government body which also invests in new housing projects.