Ben Young, Chief Executive, RLHA Group with two leaseholders
from Vicarage Close.

What is Retirement Lease Housing Association?
What is different about RLHA?
What are RLHA estates like?
Who provides the management service on the estates?
How much does the service charge cost?
Are there any staff on the estates?
Are all the estates which you manage just for retired people?
Who regulates RLHA?

What is Retirement Lease Housing Association?

Retirement Lease Housing Association (RLHA) was founded in 1971, as a not for profit charitable housing association.

It was formed by a group of dedicated volunteers with experience in housing for elderly people, who felt that the benefits of sheltered housing schemes should be open to retired home owners, not just to those who qualified for subsidised housing association or local authority rented schemes.

Retirement housing for sale was a revolutionary concept at that time, and RLHA was the originator. We now manage 1800 dwellings on 50 estates throughout the southeast.

You can view the map of RLHA estates on the Where to find us page. You can either click on the map for addresses and a contact telephone number, or browse through the full list of estates. Please telephone if you would like more details.

What is different about RLHA?Garden Mews

Nowadays there are many providers of retirement housing, both housing associations and also private developers. But we believe RLHA is a little bit different from all the others! Firstly, with a thirty year track record in building and managing retirement housing, RLHA's experience is unrivalled by any other provider.

Unlike most other housing associations that provide many types of different housing, we at RLHA aim to specialise in managing retirement housing. Smaller than some others, our emphasis is on a personal relationship with our customers, which large management organisations can sometimes find hard to maintain.

RLHA was probably the first housing association or management company to welcome elected leaseholder representatives onto its Board of Management. Two places on the Board are reserved for leaseholders elected by RLHA's Residents' Associations Forum, which meets annually together with RLHA staff and is chaired by a leaseholder.

The Forum plays an important role in influencing RLHA policy, while leaseholders on the Board ensures that the interests of the customer are given the highest priority right at the very top of the organisation.

Altogether, we think you will agree this all adds up to a management service which is unique in the quality of service which we offer our customers.

What are RLHA estates like?

Our estates are very varied in size, style and accommodation. Estates vary from as small as fifteen dwellings in size, to more than sixty dwellings. While most are apartments, several estates also have cottages and bungalows.

Most estates also have a variety of communal rooms such as a lounge, laundry room and guest room; again this varies between different estates. Some more rural schemes will have quite large communal gardens, while town centre developments may have little or no garden space. A few schemes have cottages or bungalows with private garden areas.

Who provides the management service on the estates?

All the estates are managed by RLHA's own staff, who will arrange for maintenance of the buildings and communal areas, gardening, cleaning and insurance.

Other services may also be provided, according to the lease terms on individual estates. On some estates, for example, residents are relieved of the responsibility for any internal maintenance within their dwelling, as this is covered by the service charge. Some estates also have a Scheme Manager, as explained below.

How much does the service charge cost?

All leaseholders on RLHA estates pay a service charge which covers the costs of the services provided to maintain the estate, together with a reasonable fee to cover RLHA's management costs. The service charge varies between different estates, depending on the level of services provided and the size, design and the age of the estate.

Estimated expenditure budgets can be supplied for any of our estates on request. Audited accounts are prepared for leaseholders at the end of each financial year, giving leaseholders the reassurance of knowing how each penny of their money has been spent.

Are there any staff on the estates?

A few estates have no resident staff, however the majority have the benefit of a Scheme Manager who is responsible for the day to day running of the estate.

RLHA Scheme Managers are well trained, and supported by a team of experienced staff based at RLHA's Central Services Office in Aldershot.

Are all the estates which you manage just for retired people?

RLHA also manages a number of non-retirement estates, for people of mixed ages. These non-retirement estates are managed through a wholly owned subsidiary of the main association, known as Ethical Leasehold Management Limited (Elm). Like the parent association, this is also a "not for profit" housing association.

Who regulates RLHA?

As a registered housing association with charitable objects, we are subject to regulation by the following authorities:

Furthermore, RLHA Group is a member of the following organisations and subscribes to their Codes of Practice:

(For further information on all these organisations, click on the links.)

This high degree of regulation provides our customers with assurance that our management service is among the most responsive, ethical and accountable in the whole leasehold sector.

RLHA

Retirement Lease Housing Association
Registered with charitable status under the Industrial and Provident Societies Act 1965, No. 19730R



Ethical Leasehold Management Limited
Registered under the Industrial and Provident Societies Act 1965