Southern Housing Group is an among the largest and oldest

housing association In Ireland and the United Kingdom, housing associations are private, Non-profit organization, non-profit making organisations that provide low-cost "Public housing in the United Kingdom, social housing" for people in need of a home. Any budge ...

s in the UK, managing 30,000 homes for over 77,000 residents in London and the south east of England.

History

Southern Housing Group began as the Samuel Lewis Housing Trust in 1901 when Samuel Lewis, an English

money-lender In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that de ...

and

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

, died and left an endowment of £670,000 to set up a charitable trust to provide housing for the poor (equivalent to about £30 million in modern terms). Samuel Lewis Housing Trust completed its first properties in 1910 at Liverpool Road in

Islington Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ar ...

, London. These were: *Ixworth Place,

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

(1912) *Warner Road,

Camberwell Camberwell () is a district of South London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark, southeast of Charing Cross. Camberwell was first a village associated with the church of St Giles and a common of which Goose Green is a remnant. This e ...

(1913–1919) *Vanston Place,

Walham Green Walham Green is the historic name of an English village, now part of inner London, in the parish of Fulham in the County of Middlesex. It was located between the hamlet of North End (now renamed West Kensington) to the north, and Parsons Gr ...

, Fulham (1920–22) *Dalston Lane, Hackney (1923) *Lisgar Terrace,

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

(1927) *Amhurst Road, Hackney (1931–37) *Amhurst Park,

Stamford Hill Stamford Hill is an area in Inner London, England, about 5.5 miles north-east of Charing Cross. The neighbourhood is a sub-district of Hackney, the major component of the London Borough of Hackney, and is known for its Hasidic community, the l ...

(1938–39) In 2001 the Trust changed its name to Southern Housing Group to reflect the changing nature and scope of the organisation. In 2010, James Butcher Housing Association Ltd and South Wight Housing Association Ltd were amalgamated into a single charitable housing association, Southern Housing Group Ltd. In April 2019 ''The Guardian'' published allegations that the Group was punishing one of its tenants for speaking out about planning breaches in their block which discriminated against social tenants. In response, the Trust stated that it had been in ongoing communication with the tenants for some weeks, which was unrelated to any contact with the press. A proposed merger with

Sanctuary Housing Sanctuary Housing is a large housing association based in Worcester, England. It is part of the Sanctuary Group, which also includes other businesses such as Sanctuary Care (running more than 100 care homes), Sanctuary Students (accommodation ...

was abandoned in April 2021.

References

External links

* Housing associations based in England Real estate companies established in 1901 Companies based in the City of London Charities based in London 1901 establishments in England British companies established in 1901 {{real-estate-stub