Social Housing Secured Lending

Devonshires has the largest specialist Social Housing Property Security team in the sector. Consistently recognised as a market leader, we are ranked Tier 1 for Social Housing Finance in both Chambers UK and The Legal 500. Our scale, depth of expertise and long-standing presence in the market mean clients rely on us for assured, technically precise advice on high-value and strategically important funding transactions.

As the sector’s pre‑eminent property security practice, we have acted for more than 130 Social Housing Providers on charging exercises under facilities ranging from £1 million to £2 billion. This breadth of experience gives us an unrivalled understanding of how to structure, negotiate and deliver complex, time‑critical security transactions. Our team combines the capacity needed to run multiple large instructions simultaneously with the personal, attentive service required to identify issues early and tailor solutions to each organisation’s needs. Our position at the forefront of the sector ensures we are closely involved in market developments and emerging funding structures.

We act for Registered Providers (RPs), Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) and their group members across England and Wales on the full range of bond, loan, security, guarantee and hedging documentation. Our work supports general corporate funding, regeneration schemes and development programmes. The diversity of our client base - from the largest national providers to smaller specialist organisations - means our lawyers at every level bring proven, practical insight to each matter. Our work is grounded in technical accuracy and a clear, senior understanding of sector-specific risk. Whether advising on funding for new build schemes, refinancing legacy debt, or structuring transactions for large development pipelines, we deliver practical guidance that supports confident decision-making.

Our Services

As trusted secured lending solicitors, and advisers on social housing finance, we support clients across all stages of secured housing finance transactions.

Secured Lending for Housing Providers

• Acting for lenders and borrowers on new funding and refinancing

Development & Project Finance

• Advising on development funding for regeneration and new build schemes
• Supporting lenders and housing providers on phased drawdowns and valuation milestones
• Advising on funding social housing projects and security arrangements for large-scale developments

Due Diligence & Regulatory Compliance

• Conducting legal due diligence for secured lending, including title, planning, regulatory and property-related checks

Security Packages & Documentation

• Advising on social housing security packages, including multi-property portfolios
• Supporting secured lending documentation requirements for facility agreements and security documents

Recent examples include

• Southern Housing Group – Advising on £2 billion of new and existing debt facilities connected with the merger of Optivo and Southern Housing, including top‑up due diligence on around 27,000 properties and Condition Subsequent Certificates of Title on approximately 11,000 properties.
• Moat Homes Limited – Acting on Moat’s £100 million loan under the Affordable Homes Guarantee Scheme, the first transaction completed following the scheme’s expansion to include improvement works to existing homes as well as new affordable development.
• BPHA – Advising on refinancing involving £530 million of loan facilities and related securitisation over roughly 9,600 properties.
• Abri – Acting for Abri and Octavia on all finance and property security aspects of their merger.
• Vivid – Advising on several transactions within its refinancing programme, including charging to the Affordable Homes Guarantee Scheme, HSBC, NatWest, Santander and Lloyds, securing more than £500 million of funding.
• Riverside Group – Completing full due diligence on more than 3,500 properties to support a £75 million note issuance with Barings Bank and a new £150 million facility agreement with ABN Amro.
• Wythenshawe Community Housing Group – Advising on its recent refinance, including full due diligence on over 2,500 properties to facilitate the restructuring of £61 million of existing facilities and the negotiation of £87.5 million in new loan arrangements.