Your voice matters: Shaping the future with Abri and Octavia
In doing this, you can expect:
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Greater investment in homes and neighbourhoods: combining resources means we can invest more in maintaining and improving existing homes and local communities.
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Better services and support: you’ll see improvements in how we handle contact and complaints, and we’ll ensure homes and estates remain safe and well maintained.
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Access to more homes: Residents will benefit from a wider pool of properties across the merged organisation, plus more new homes being built.
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Cost savings reinvested for you: Operating as one organisation instead of two creates efficiencies. We plan to reinvest those savings into better services for residents.
As we move closer to completing the final milestones in our partnership, we wanted to share more of the answers to your questions asked in our consultation. We’ve shared the answers to commonly asked questions below, and our Resident Engagement Team has been in touch directly with all residents who asked for a call back to talk more about our plans.
Your voice matters – and that won’t change
We’re committed to providing clear and meaningful ways for you to get involved and help shape the future of our services. We want to hear what’s important to you, what works well, and where we can improve. Our commitment to listening to residents and acting on your feedback remains a top priority.
We’ll continue to work closely with our existing resident groups to make sure your views are represented on local, regional, and national issues. There will also be opportunities for you to share your ideas and influence decisions that affect your home and community.
Octavia consultation FAQs
Will TOE result in any changes to the terms of existing leases, including ground rent, service charges, or rights and obligations of leaseholders?
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Your lease and your rights as a leaseholder will be unaffected.
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The only real change will be that Abri will become the owner of your home (and therefore your landlord) in place of Octavia. The terms and conditions of your lease will not change.
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Your lease dictates how rents are increased and there would be no change in this process.
How will this affect Octavia/Abri's obligations as a landlord?
Once the transfer completes, Abri will be your new landlord/freeholder.
Like Octavia, Abri is a charitable registered provider of social housing regulated by the Regulator of Social Housing and is therefore committed to ensuring your rights are maintained. This means that:
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Your tenancy agreement would not change and would continue unaffected.
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If you are a tenant, all your rights would remain the same.
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Tenants would have the same “security of tenure” as you have now, including the right to remain in your home for as long as you like provided you keep to the terms of your tenancy. This is because Abri as the new landlord would have to follow the same legal procedure to take away anyone’s tenancy.
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For shared owners and other leaseholders, your lease and the terms of the lease would remain the same, although again, your landlord/freeholder would become Abri.
How will this impact on the annually increased service charges and rent and the communal services?
Rents for tenants at the point of the transfer would remain exactly the same as your existing rent level. Rents and service charges would not increase as a result of the transfer.
For shared owners and other leaseholders, your lease dictates how rents are increased and there would be no change in this process.
How will this affect leaseholders?
You’re very unlikely to experience any change with the way that your property is managed at the moment. This is because Octavia is already part of the Abri group, and both Octavia and Abri have similar aims and objectives and are charitable registered providers of social housing (meaning they are both registered with and regulated by the Regulator of Social Housing).
What about ongoing building safety works?
Abri has made the safety of Octavia homes a priority. We’re working to make all our homes safe by removing combustible cladding. We have secured government grant funding to cover costs where we can, and we are putting together a detailed programme of works to address every building needing remediation works.
Will repairs, resident engagement, and affordability be compromised in this process?
We believe that fully merging by way of a transfer of engagements (ToE) will enable a combined organisation to invest more in existing homes and neighbourhoods and make improvements to the services that residents currently receive.
The transfer would be followed by a period of integration which would consider how best to utilise both organisations’ services efficiently and cost effectively.
We will work more effectively with Octavia’s repairs contractors, including Mears, to provide a repairs and maintenance service that meets the expectations of residents and represents good value for money.
How will improvements in contact and complaint handling, repair services, and local management be sustained and monitored?
Under Abri’s regional approach, Octavia will benefit from being part of a strong and financially resilient organisation but will retain an enhanced local presence.
We will improve systems to better capture requests and satisfaction levels, and we’re committed to enhancing the quality of existing homes and ensuring compliance across all areas of landlord health and safety.
How will resident feedback continue to shape service delivery and what mechanisms will be in place to ensure accountability?
Abri will make sure that Octavia’s residents are better engaged, more involved, and truly hold the organisation to account.
Will the name Octavia disappear?
We remain committed to protecting and enhancing the legacy of Octavia Hill, a founder of the social housing movement. Her vision for strong communities and quality homes will continue to guide us as we move forward together.
What happens to the charitable work of Octavia?
The Octavia Foundation will be an important part of our future - we'll use it to establish a stronger voice in the sector and beyond, sharing good practice to raise sector standards, influence positive change in housing policy and ensure Octavia Hill's legacy lives and breathes in our communities. As Abri’s Chief Operating Officer Ralph Facey takes on the role of managing director in 2026, he will author and deliver the strategy to make this a reality.
Is Abri still a registered charity?
Like Octavia, Abri is a not-for-profit organisation with a social purpose. It has a long history of providing homes and services and investing in people and communities.
Abri Group Limited is a registered society under the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014 and a charitable registered provider with the Regulator of Social Housing.
Will London retain its Managing Director?
We will have a Regional Managing Director for the London region, to make sure that the services delivered in the region meet the needs of residents and communities.
Will staff move from London to the Abri offices?
Under Abri’s regional approach, Octavia will benefit from being part of a strong and financially resilient organisation but will retain an enhanced local presence.
We will give all residents access to a named, locally based housing officer who will listen carefully to understand and respond to the needs of residents.
We will work closely with the existing Resident Panel to improve service performance and resident satisfaction, and to co-design services.
We will also introduce new ways in which residents can shape our services.
What are the future development plans for Octavia?
In our plans, we set out our ambition to meet future investment requirements for homes and estates within a long-term financial plan, including making homes safe, warmer and more efficient to heat.
We know the housing crisis is more acute in London so will be looking to build more high-quality homes. As part of Octavia joining Abri, and being part of a larger group, we have the strength and resilience to deliver more quality homes. And the recently announced government support will help us deliver that too.
Will there be more flexibility around housing transfers?
You will still need to apply for permission to swap your home. You can find out more about how Abri manages mutual exchanges on our website: Mutual Exchange.
Will the contact details change?
You can now call us on 0300 123 1567 or email us at info@octavia.org.uk.
How does Abri manage anti-social behaviour?
There’s no place for domestic abuse or anti-social behaviour (ASB) in our homes. And we take any safeguarding concerns very seriously. You can find out more about how we manage reports of anti-social behaviour on our website: Anti-social behaviour
What does release money for investment actually mean?
We’re committed to investing in our homes to make them great places to live and bringing people together. To do this effectively, we’re creating partnerships, new technology, innovative solutions and new ways of working.
We're investing significantly into existing homes to improve quality, affordability and safety, and further investment on regeneration.
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