Pentland tenants vote overwhelmingly in favour of transfer to Cairn Housing Association
Tenants of Pentland Housing Association's 500 homes in Caithness have voted overwhelmingly in favour of a transfer to Cairn.
It has been hailed as "great news for tenants and the wider community".
The transfer will deliver £6.3 million of investment alongside a locked-in five-year affordable rent guarantee and continued local services delivered by a new combined team based in Thurso.
The tenant ballot closed last Tuesday and, once counted by Civica Election Services, 91.9 per cent of votes were in favour of the partnership on a turnout that was described as "exceptionally high" at 73.4 per cent.
Pentland Housing Association chairman Jim Hair said: “The board are delighted that, not only have our tenants shared our vision for the future of their homes and services, they have turned out in huge numbers to make their voices heard at the ballot box.
"We worked closely with Cairn to develop an exciting transfer proposal that has been shaped by our tenants through months of public consultation. The result of the ballot is great news for our tenants and the wider community, and we will be hard at work with our colleagues at Cairn in the months ahead preparing for the transfer.”
Don Jamieson, chairman of Cairn Housing Association, said: “We are thrilled that the Pentland tenants have backed the transfer to Cairn with their resounding support for the transfer promises. We look forward to welcoming tenants, other customers and the staff team to join us at Cairn.”
The Pentland board will now meet to discuss the result of the ballot before calling a special general meeting where shareholding members will be asked to formally approve the transfer of engagements to Cairn. The transfer is expected to happen on April 1, 2022.
Cairn Housing Group will have around 4500 homes under its management when the transfer is concluded.