An Introduction to Midlands Rural Housing

Midlands Rural Housing (MRH) was established in 1997 and exists to promote the provision of homes for people living in the countryside, who cannot afford to rent or purchase at existing market levels.


In addition it acts as a Service Provider to four locally based Rural Housing Associations.  Northamptonshire, Warwickshire, Leicestershire and Peak District Rural Housing Associations currently own and manage over 1,200 properties in villages in their respective counties.  Three Associations have ongoing development programmes, which will provide more homes for local people in housing need in the rural areas where they operate, with the exception of Leicestershire Rural which manages properties on behalf of partner Associations.


The Staff of MRH are based at Coalville in Leicestershire and Cromford in Derbyshire.


Their experience and expertise in rural housing not only serves the rural Housing Associations but is also offered more broadly to other Housing Associations seeking a solution to rural housing needs.


In this respect, MRH works in partnership with a range of organisations and agencies.  In particular, it works closely with Parish Councils, village communities and Local Authorities to identify local needs and options for housing provision, and also assists in the provision of information for the production of Local Authority Housing Strategies.

In order to carry out these core activities MRH undertakes a number of practical and strategic functions, which can be summarised as follows:-


  • Providing advice, assistance and support to Parish Councils and local communities in carrying out village Housing Need Surveys.
  • Analysing the data and outputs from such surveys and reporting on the findings to Parish Councils and Local Authority Housing and Planning Departments.
  • Conducting option assessments for meeting identified needs.
  • Conducting negotiations with landowners and developers.
  • Working with Local Authority “Preferred Partner” Housing Associations and the Housing Corporation to progress development proposals.
  • Acting as liaison/contact point at the local community level to enable consultation and input.
  • Assisting Local Authorities in the identification of rural investment priorities for the immediate, medium and long-term.
  • Providing specialist rural management services to partner Associations.
  • Linking with, and feeding information to, national, regional and local rural organisations to enable broader rural strategies to be developed (e.g. Local ACRE/RCC organisations and the Countryside Agency).