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About us

AIHA is an ambitious, growing housing association providing housing for members of the Orthodox Jewish community. Our retirement living and specialist schemes offer excellent care tailored to the needs of each tenant.

AIHA is a dynamic and growing housing association that exists to address housing need in the Orthodox Jewish community. Family and community values sit at the heart of everything we do.

For forty years we have been providing great homes and care services that enable all our residents to flourish and achieve their full potential.

We believe that every outcome in life depends on the home, whether it is good health or the ability for children to learn and flourish. We remain true to our founders’ vision and will continue to provide more great homes and support for all ages and needs, from generation to generation.

From the management of short-life housing in one borough, AIHA has grown substantially and now owns over 900 homes.

Predominantly in North London and Salford but now extending also to Canvey Island, Westcliff – and soon to Gateshead in the Northeast of England. We provide family homes as well as accommodation with care.

We take a holistic view of our community’s housing and housing-related needs. Since our community lives together, irrespective of income, AIHA works to provide different kinds of home across different tenures, enabling people to move from one tenure to another depending on their financial situation. This approach results in sustainable mixed communities that thrive.

A carer and resident of Schonfeld Square

Our portfolio includes good quality affordable housing for rent and shared ownership, retirement living, respite and residential and nursing care.

Whilst it is difficult to make development of large affordable homes financially viable, AIHA is committed to make it work because our community is a growing one and many have large families.

We have achieved this objective through agile and creative working with our partners. The average energy efficiency of our homes is Band B, achieved by having new properties built to high standards and investing in better heating for existing homes.

2022 marks the 40th anniversary since AIHA was founded. Since that time, we have worked tirelessly to meet the community’s need for appropriate and affordable homes.

Where the cost and availability of land, coupled with diminished grant, made it impossible to wholly meet the needs of the growing Community in our Stamford Hill heartland, AIHA gave support to pioneers establishing satellite communities in Canvey Island and Westcliff. These acquisitions complement AIHA’s wider portfolio, consisting of properties owned and managed in Barnet, Salford and Manchester (which is home to the second largest Orthodox Jewish community in the UK).

Looking ahead, in Gateshead, we are working to develop 20 new family homes with our partners, which include Adler Housing Association and the Gateshead Regeneration Partnership. In addition, we are building 22 new homes for shared ownership in Golders Green Road.

Schonfeld Square, a round yellow-bricked building with windows

Our commitment to partnership working and value for money

We are a Registered Social Landlord and charity, but we are also a business. We are in business to support our community. Good businesses are well managed; effective charities are properly funded. Our community needs more affordable housing and we aim to provide it. To achieve our goals we need a strong balance sheet. We build good houses and we build great reserves. We partner and network with many groups and agencies, learning from everyone – with the aim of achieving the best possible outcomes and value from our assets.

The concept of value for money has been at the forefront of AIHA’s activities from the beginning. Cheapest, however, is not always best and we take into consideration financial, environmental and social gains from our activities.

Our developments

Our properties are located in the London Boroughs of Hackney, Haringey and Barnet, in Salford, and in the new communities on Canvey Island and in Westcliff. Our properties include:

General needs properties
We have a much larger proportion of family size homes compared to other housing associations. Our properties include homes for social and affordable rent and shared ownership properties.

Supported housing for people with additional needs
This includes projects for older people, people with disabilities and people with mental health needs.

Care homes
We provide housing for frail older people with care and nursing needs. Schonfeld Square Homes, and Beenstock Home (managed for AIHA by Beenstock Home Management Company) are both rated ‘Good’ by the Care Quality Commission.

See our properties