What East Lothian Housing Association does

East Lothian Housing Association (ELHA) is a Scottish charity and registered social landlord founded in 1988, providing affordable housing and tenancy services across the East Lothian region of Scotland. The organisation is headquartered at 18-20 Market Street, Haddington, and operates under the regulatory oversight of the Scottish Housing Regulator, with statutory registration under the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001 and the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014. ELHA employs 11-50 staff and is governed by a management committee with structured tenant participation mechanisms including Tenant Scrutiny and a Tenant Involvement Group.

ELHA delivers services through a web-based tenant portal (My Home) and the Rent Collector mobile application, covering rent payments, repairs and maintenance, mutual exchanges, shared ownership, the LIFT scheme, homelessness support, transfers, factoring for homeowners, and tenancy support including money and energy advice. The These Homes partnership extends applicant reach via a shared allocation and waiting list system. The Performance 365 portal publishes monthly and annual performance data for transparency. Marketing and tenant engagement are primarily digital, leveraging the website, Facebook, the Talkback newsletter, and formal consultation processes including an annual rent increase consultation.

The business model is anchored on recurring rental income from social housing tenancies, supplemented by service charges, factoring income, and shared ownership servicing. Distribution is direct-to-tenant via online self-service, walk-in appointments, and dedicated phone lines including a 24/7 repair line. The organisation is funded through rental revenue, with capital programmes supported by debt facilities, as evidenced by a £11.27M facility from The Royal Bank of Scotland dated 2026-06-29. Strategic posture is regional and stable, with active new development within East Lothian and digital investment in tenant-facing tooling.

Name

East Lothian Housing Association

Legal name

East Lothian Housing Association

Website

https://elha.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1988

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

East Lothian Housing Association is a Scottish charity and registered social landlord founded in 1988, providing affordable housing, tenancy services, and digital tenant management tools to social housing tenants across the East Lothian region of Scotland.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Social Housing

NAICS

Residential Property Managers (531311), Lessors of Residential Buildings and Dwellings (53111), Other Community Housing Services (624229)

SIC

Real Estate Agents & Managers (For Others) (6531), Operators Of Apartment Buildings (6513)

akta.pro primary industry

Affordable & Subsidized Housing Property Management (LIHTC, Section 8) (BPAJAFAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Affordable Housing Property Management (BPAJAGAJ), Affordable Housing & Community Development (Housing, Community Land Trusts) (BPAGALAC)

Keywords

• Social housing services
• Affordable rental housing
• Tenancy management services
• Housing association services
• Property maintenance services

Headquarters

HQ city

Haddington

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Others, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Rental Income: Primary revenue from collecting rent from social housing tenants. The organization conducts annual rent increase consultations with tenants.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

East Lothian Housing Association is a housing association that lets and manages social and affordable rental homes across East Lothian, Scotland. It delivers tenancy-related services including lettings and allocations, rent collection, estate management, and a repairs and maintenance service for tenants living in its housing stock. The organisation also supports tenants through welfare, income maximisation, and tenancy-sustainment advice.

Product overview

East Lothian Housing Association provides a unified online housing management platform with a tenant portal at its core. The core My Home portal integrates Key Tenant, My House, My Account, My Tenancy, and My Ideas & Opinions features. Surrounding the portal are service modules including Finding a New Home (for allocations, mutual exchanges, shared ownership, and transfers), Paying Your Rent (with Rent Collector mobile app), and maintenance services. The Performance 365 module publishes performance data, while Happy Healthy Homes addresses tenant welfare. Tenant Participation enables involvement through scrutiny and consultations. Factoring services extend to homeowners. All services are delivered online with live chat support during office hours.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Social and affordable rental housing Core offer of rented homes to households in housing need across East Lothian, managed end-to-end as tenancies with the housing association acting as landlord.
• Tenancy and lettings service Application, allocation, sign-up, and ongoing tenancy management service for existing and prospective tenants, typically delivered in coordination with local authority nominations.
• Repairs and maintenance service Responsive repairs, voids preparation, and planned maintenance service delivered to tenants occupying the association's housing stock.
• Tenant support and money advice Welfare benefits, income maximisation, and tenancy-sustainment advice provided to tenants to help them maintain their tenancies and manage rent payments.

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (SFHA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOfficial member of the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations, a professional body supporting housing associations across Scotland with resources, guidance, and sector representation.
• Happy to TranslatecoreOthersPartnership providing translation services for non-English speaking tenants, ensuring accessibility of services across diverse communities.
• Digital ParticipationcoreOthersSignatory to the Digital Participation charter in Scotland, supporting digital inclusion and helping tenants develop digital skills.
• These HomescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerShared housing allocation and waiting list system used for registering and applying for social housing across East Lothian.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Link Group: Large Scottish housing association and registered social landlord operating across multiple regions with similar affordable housing, home ownership, and tenant support services. Closely mirrors ELHA's regulatory and operational model.
• Castle Rock Edinvar Housing Association: Edinburgh-based Scottish housing association providing social housing, factoring, and tenancy support under SHR regulation. Comparable in scale and product mix to ELHA, including similar shared ownership offerings.
• Berwickshire Housing Association: Small Scottish housing association operating in the Scottish Borders, similar in size and regional focus to ELHA. Provides social rented housing, home ownership, and tenant participation services under SHR oversight.
• Bield Housing Association: Scottish housing association providing housing and support services, with a particular focus on older people. Comparable as a registered social landlord delivering regulated affordable housing with online tenant services in Scotland.
• Wheatley Homes South: Part of the Wheatley Group, one of Scotland's largest social landlords. Directly comparable as a Scottish registered social landlord providing affordable rented housing, factoring, and tenant services with similar regulatory obligations under the SHR.
• Dunbar Housing Association: East Lothian-based housing association providing social and affordable rented housing in the same geographic market as ELHA. Direct local peer with overlapping service offerings and regulatory framework.

Broad incumbents

• Places for People: One of the UK's largest social housing and property management groups. Broad incumbent operating across rented, shared ownership, and home ownership segments; useful scale benchmark for ELHA's digital and service delivery model.
• Sanctuary Housing: Major UK housing association operating more than 100,000 units. Comparable in regulated social landlord status, affordable housing focus, and tenant support services, though at substantially larger scale.
• Orbit Group: Large UK housing association providing affordable rented and shared ownership housing alongside tenant services. Comparable regulatory and product framework, though operating predominantly in England rather than Scotland.

Others

• Scottish Federation of Housing Associations: Sector membership body representing Scottish housing associations including ELHA itself. Comparable not as a competitor but as the umbrella organisation whose standards, training, and policy advocacy shape the operating environment for ELHA and its direct peers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/eastlothianhousingassociation

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about East Lothian Housing Association