Whitefriars Housing Group  Whitefriars Housing Group Ltd is a housing association managing about 18,000 homes in Coventry, England. Constituted as a charitable industrial and provident society, it is Coventry's largest social landlord. In December 2008 it became part of the West Mercia Housing Group, based in Bromsgrove, which includes Harden Housing Association, Kemble Housing and Nexus Housing, and manages homes across the West Midlands, Herefordshire and Worcestershire. Whitefriars Homes North, South and Services Limited (later becoming Whitefriars Housing Group in May 2006) were created in the lead up to September 2000 by Coventry City Council at a non-refundable cost of £2.3m to the taxpayer ahead of the outcome of a legally required tenant ballot under Schedule 3A of the Housing Act 1985 (before it was amended). Coventry City Council controversially ignored 68.2% of people who did not vote in favour (5,220 votes against, 8,723 abstentions and 32 spoilt ballot papers) and pressed ahead with the transfer of 20,200 properties in an attempt to resolve legal issues surrounding widespread disrepair in Coventry City Council Housing and to absolve debt liabilities of between £156m - £158m onto the national taxpayer. Only those that voted were counted despite tenant reservations given the content of the video where Coventry City Council stated that if tenants did not vote in favour, “improvements” [repairs] would not be carried out. The transfer could strongly be argued as illegal and these facts, although shocking, are categorically backed up in a Coventry City Council Report disclosed in a Freedom of Information disclosure available on www.whatdotheyknow.com. The scheme was overseen by Coventry City Council Counsellor Peter Lacy who became the Chief Executive of the newly formed Whitefriars group of companies and involved legal input from Trowers and Hamlins Solicitors and Lawrence Graham Solicitors. Promises made in the Coventry City Council video sent out shortly before the tenant ballot were either broken or could not be delivered in the first place such as equivalent security of tenure (the law didn’t allow for it) and equal succession rights. The 35 year rent guarantee for transferring tenants contained within the video (available on YouTube as “Coventry City Council, your home, your future, not your choice”) was quickly abandoned and UPVC double glazed windows and doors (to replace rotting wooden ones) and new kitchens and bathrooms were charged back to tenants without the tenants receiving recompence whilst being described by Coventry City Council as “improvements” as opposed to repairs.