Our history

Summary

This organisation originated in the 1950s when Lady Molly Huggins started the Metropolitan Coloured People’s Association to provide good quality, affordable housing for immigrants from the West Indies. In 1963, we were formally established as a housing association.

Since then we have grown enormously. We are now made up of a group of organisations with over 30,000 homes. Despite our growth, our original aim of providing good quality, low cost housing remains the same and we remain committed to the areas where we began in London and the Midlands.

1950s

Lady Molly Huggins, wife of the Governor of Jamaica, set up the Metropolitan Coloured People’s Housing Association to provide housing for Jamaican and West Indian immigrants. Lady Molly first explored the London suburbs of Tottenham and Brixton as suitable neighbourhoods to provide quality, low cost housing.

1960s

In 1963 Metropolitan Housing Trust (MHT) was formally established as a housing association. By 1968 MHT had 200 flats in management and 560 in development, and was developing co-ownership schemes in the East Midlands. MHT was buying run-down street properties in Lambeth and Haringey for renovation, as well as building new housing.

1970s

MHT continued to grow rapidly while still concentrating on London and the East Midlands. It led the way in improvement work and joint schemes with local authorities. The Ransom Road Estate in Nottingham, one of the largest housing association developments to be funded by the Housing Corporation, was completed in 1979.

 

1980s

In 1981 Metropolitan Home Ownership (MHO) was established to develop low cost shared ownership schemes, based on the idea of people gradually entering the owner-occupied market by buying a share of their home. MHO has since become one of the largest shared-ownership associations in the country, helping over 7000 households realise their aspiration of buying an affordable home.

In 1988, the Government transferred the responsibilities of developing social housing onto housing associations. We took up the challenge and were one of the first associations to use our new powers under the 1988 Housing Act to raise private money on the stock exchange, thus making the best use of the public grants available.

1990s

We entered the 1990s with 6,500 homes in management and 550 in the pipeline. In 1991 our Haringey Care and Repair project was set up to enable elderly and disabled people to remain in their homes. In 1993, we delivered our then largest ever development programme of 750 homes for rent and shared ownership. South East London Consortium HA and Dalco Homes merged with MHT strengthening our commitment to special needs housing. In 1997 Refugee Housing Association joined the group.

We ended the century working on six major regeneration schemes of run-down housing estates acquired from London councils.

2000s

The new century saw a new approach to resident participation with the development of the National Residents Group, working with staff and board members to develop policies.

The Refugee Housing Association secured a contract to support 800 asylum seeker households in the East Midlands and commenced work in South Yorkshire. In 2002 our care and support activities were amalgamated into a new organisation called StepForward.

In the Midlands, Nottingham ’s Rushcliffe Homes joined the Partnership. MHT commenced a programme of urban renaissance, and major regeneration schemes began reaching completion.

In 2005, Granta Housing Society joined the newly re-branded Metropolitan Housing Partnership. We were selected by the Clapham Park Project and Lambeth Council to progress the housing renovation of Clapham Park.

In 2007, Walbrook Housing Group, MHT Midlands and Rushcliffe Homes join to form Spirita. Threshold Support was welcomed into MHP, joining StepForward and Refugee Housing Association to form a single care and support organisation called Metropolitan Support Trust.