England’s largest tenant body has had its application to become a charity approved, ending months of uncertainty about its future funding.
According to Inside Housing:
The Tenants’ and Residents’ Organisations of England confirmed that its application to register a new company with the Charity Commission has now been approved. The commission’s register shows the company TAROE Trust Ltd was formally registered on 26 March.
Michael Gelling, chair of TAROE, said he hopes the move will enable the organisation to raise the £150,000 a year it needs to survive and enable TAROE to access funding required to be contributed by contractors under housing organisations’ corporate social responsibility policies.
Since April 2011 TAROE no longer receives £125,000 of annual tenant empowerment funding from the government due to cuts. Mr Gelling said the registration means a £30,000 donation from an unnamed benefactor can now go ahead, but would not reveal details.
He added: ‘This is great news for disadvantaged tenants in our sector who are suffering real hardship due to the significant changes in housing provision and welfare reform.’
TAROE first sought to register the company with the Charity Commission last summer and hoped for approval by the end of August, but the move was delayed. The commission was concerned about the potential for conflicts of interest caused by members sitting on TAROE’s existing board and the new charity’s board. It also asked for assurance that the charity will be used for ‘exclusively charitable purposes.’