LHP/Ongo Merger Updates

We have entered into due diligence with Ongo to look into all the legal and financial requirements to make sure we are a good fit for one another. This stage is expected to take two to three months. If all goes to plan, we will aim to launch our combined organisation in 2024.

Yes – your landlord would change to the new company (e.g. LHP Ongo). However, the conditions of your tenancy or lease would not change, and you would have the same level of rights and protection that you have now.

We anticipate that the new structure would take effect in April 2024, but we will keep you updated.

No, the merger would not affect your rent or service charge. We would continue to review charges every year, as we do at the moment, in line with your current tenancy agreement or lease. Rent increases would only be made in line with Government guidance and requirements (as they are now).

No changes are anticipated to the way you pay now.

If you already have the Right to Buy or Acquire, you would not lose the right and you would continue to be able to exercise the right in the same way as before.

There are no proposals for these to change as part of the proposals.

You will still be able to get in touch with us in all the ways you're used to - phone, email, social media, web chat and via our tenant portal myLHP.

We are committed to providing ways for you to get involved and help us improve our services. We are keen to hear what you think, what’s important to you and how we can improve our services. This would remain the same if the proposal goes ahead and our commitment to hearing our customers voices and giving you opportunities to influence how we design and deliver our services remains a priority. You can get involved by joining our customer engagement hub – YourVoice – and share your views, which will be used to shape how tenant engagement would work if the merger takes place and to make sure that your voice will continue to be heard on issues relating to local, regional and nationwide matters.

Understandably the work involved in progressing a merger is time consuming and involves lots of our colleagues undertaking this additional work. This can risk other projects being delayed for a short period. However, we can assure you that the benefits of our new combined partnership organisation will significantly outweigh this. We can also assure you that there will be no day-to-day negative effect on the services you receive from our colleagues.

Together, LHP and Ongo could invest more in developing excellent homes and services for residents and communities.
Through scale, we would be better placed to provide quality, reliable services from our three existing centres – Scunthorpe, Grimsby, and Boston.
Our customers would continue to be at the centre of what we do, with their influence on our organisations embedded across our suggested ‘large and local’ model.
Front line teams would be larger, more agile, and resilient supporting our front-line colleagues to spend most of their time in the community, not in the office.
Insourcing more functions could improve cost and quality control, bringing services closer to customers. Quick wins would be via LHP’s out of hours service and offering our accredited 24/7 telecare independence Living support service to Ongo tenants.
Bringing our property service teams together over time and using smart property technology and expertise in repairs, could accelerate LHP’s repair service modernisation.
The merger could increase home quality, choice, and mobility for customers across Greater Lincolnshire.
We would meet local need by securing and delivering the existing combined pipeline programme of 550 properties by 2025, and would have financial capacity, pre any efficiency savings, for a programme of at least 285 homes per annum thereafter.

We would continue to ensure that our neighbourhoods meet the diverse needs of existing and future residents and are safe, well managed and attractive places where people want to live and where local people are empowered to shape, feel ownership, and contribute to the life of their neighbourhood.
Some communities need more. Building on Ongo’s approach, we could seek to generate and invest up to £1.5m per year, rising to up to £2m post our integration period as efficiencies are delivered, in creating opportunities for people to live their best lives, and in supporting communities with neighbourhood appropriate activities.