Jonathan Layzell, chief executive of Stonewater, said the transfer will allow for a “more consistent service for customers”

Stonewater has concluded the transfer of 1,700 homes from Mount Green, which merged with the large Leicester-based landlord in 2024.

The transfer pertains to homes in Surrey and West Sussex, and sees Stonewater’s portfolio rise to more than 40,000 homes across England.

The association, which reported a marginal drop in its annual turnover – to £305.4m from £306.1m – last month because of falling shared ownership sales, has aspirations to develop 3,000 affordable homes over the next five years.

Consultations on the stock transfer from Mount Green, which has been in operation for over 60 years, began earlier this year.

The merger between the two landlords in 2024 came in the wake of the Regulator of Social Housing downgrading Mount Green’s governance grade to G2 in 2022.

At the time, the English regulator said that Mount Green’s financial performance was “weak and forecast to remain so in the short term”.

Jonathan Layzell, chief executive of Stonewater, said: “Over the last 18 months, bringing Mount Green and Stonewater closer together has helped lay the foundations for a stronger, more consistent service for customers.”

“Customers in Surrey and Sussex can now benefit from the resilience and experience of a national organisation, alongside the local knowledge and community focus they value,” he added.

Mr Layzell noted that Stonewater has “gained valuable insight from Mount Green’s approach to locally focused services” since the housing associations merged.

Transferring Mount Green homes into Stonewater’s direct ownership means residents “will continue to receive excellent support from our new locality teams, who will uphold the values Mount Green worked hard to build in these communities”, My Layzell said.

“This next step gives customers the reassurance of long-term strength and stability, while protecting the close relationships and community understanding that Mount Green has developed over many years.”

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Stonewater completes transfer of 1,700 homes from subsidiary