Becoming Chime Housing

On 1 June 2026 we formally came together with Thrive Homes to create a brand new Community Gateway housing association named Chime Housing.

The Community Gateway model ensures that residents have a strong voice by empowering them to influence decisions about their homes and services. This was central to Watford Community Housing, and we were clear that a merger would only go ahead if the new organisation would still be a Community Gateway organisation.

The extra resources we have as a larger organisation strengthens our ability to deliver reliable services, invest more in our homes, and build communities together – while keeping customers at the heart of our work.

The milestones

Initial conversations

Discussions around joining forces with Thrive Homes to make a new Community Gateway began in July 2025.

A business case was put forward suggesting that a single, larger organisation would be able to achieve operating efficiencies and greater financial resilience, meaning that we could deliver more, improve our services and ensure the long-term stability of our business – providing a more secure future for our customers.

The formal announcement

In September 2025, we formally announced that we had entered talks with Thrive Homes.

Both organisations agreed that with shared geography and a commitment to providing quality services for residents, this partnership would build on each organisation’s existing strengths while retaining local knowledge and understanding.

Listening to our residents

Our resident consultation ran from November 2025 to 1 February 2026, giving all residents the chance to give us feedback and help to shape the new organisation.

To make sure the consultation was fair, transparent and inclusive, we partnered with Tpas, an independent tenant engagement specialist.

Tpas hosted two online sessions and four in-person drop-in sessions, giving people a chance to speak to us, share their thoughts, and talk to Tpas in confidence. We also gathered views through an online survey.

In total, 766 households engaged with us, representing around 5% of the homes provided by Thrive Homes and Watford Community Housing.

In total, 766 households engaged with us, representing around 5% of the homes provided by Thrive Homes and Watford Community Housing.

Here's what we found out:

75% of residents said that the information we communicated about the merger was ‘somewhat’ or ‘very’ clear, showing that
people understood the proposal
58% of residents were either positive or neutral about the merger
Repairs, service quality and trust were the biggest concerns
For leaseholders, the cost of major works and long-term financial implications were the main concerns
Better-informed residents tended to be more positive about the merger – people who were clear about the proposal were
more confident and optimistic
Overall, residents were cautiously optimistic, seeing the potential for increased resilience and investment
Residents wanted reassurance that we wouldn’t lose touch with local communities, and a commitment to resident-led
governance and good communication.

Our promise to residents

Over the 10-week customer consultation period, we listened carefully to what matters most to both Watford Community Housing and Thrive Homes customers.

This feedback informed the key priorities for the new organisation through to 2030, which we set out in our promise to residents:

	We will deliver an improved repairs service, retaining our in-house teams of repairs operatives and bringing in more people with the expertise to enhance our service.
	The merger will not affect how much rent you pay for your tenancy – we will continue to be bound by the government’s rent-setting formula.
	With the savings we will make by combining our leadership teams, we will increase our customer-facing teams and retain the local bases we have now – meaning that there will be more people to support residents and deliver great services.
	We will offer residents more ways to engage with us and find information about our services, giving you more choice in how you get in touch and making it easier to get excellent services from us.
	As a Community Gateway housing association, we will promote membership opportunities and increase the number of engaged residents who influence our work.

The Boards’ decision

On 23 March 2026, the Boards of both organisations agreed to go ahead with the merger. After careful consideration of the business case, and all the feedback given by residents during the consultation, the Board committed to making Chime Housing a sector leader and seeing services improve for customers.

The completion of our merger

On 1 June 2026 we formally came together as one organisation called Chime Housing.

We used feedback from residents during the consultations and branding workshops to help us inform choices about our new identity.

Residents are now seeing gradual changes which will continue over the next year or so, as we work to combine Watford Community Housing and Thrive Homes into one organisation. With our combined resources, Chime Housing will be able to invest more in improving homes and services for our existing customers, as well as providing more new homes in our communities.

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