Our Mission is to provide homes for London's workers on modest incomes near their place of work on rents they can afford

Dolphin Living is an affordable housing charity formed in 2005 and initially funded through gifts from the Dolphin Square Trust from the sale of Dolphin Square in Pimlico. Our primary charitable objective is to support London's workers on modest incomes who cannot afford housing near to their place of work. This is fulfilled through the provision of homes to rent at below market levels. In 2021 79% of our 799 homes were available for intermediate rent at an average discount of 40% to the local market rent. We house those who make London work and with whom London is better place to live and work.

Alongside these homes we provide a few, yet highly important, number of homes at social and affordable rents, and to those who are statutorily homeless, meeting our second charitable objective of supporting those in acute housing need. In 2021 6% of our homes were delivering this objective. In response to the source of our initial funding we seek to provide a Westminster benefit by delivering homes in and within a reasonable and reliable commute from Westminster. 42% of our homes are in Westminster.

We are both a developer and long-term investor in homes.

 

Strategy 2021 - 2024

Our focus over the next 3 years is to manage our homes for the benefit of our customers, providing high levels of customer service whilst managing our costs, so that we can continue to grow our portfolio; increasing the number of people we support. We are therefore focusing on 3 key areas:

  • Customers - keeping our homes affordable to our beneficiaries, delivering high quality services;
  • Growth - growing our portfolio by committing to deliver 200+ new homes; and,
  • Our homes - improving our portfolio by upgrading existing older homes and investing in our affordable homes in Inner London.

Importantly, we will continue to champion the need for homes to rent for London's workers on modest incomes, in the hope that others acknowledge and act to provide homes for this sector of the population, who are often forgotten in housing policy.

Key current issues in the housing sector include affordability, customer safety, sustainability, and inclusivity; these four considerations are embedded in our strategic plans. This strategy is also supported by maintaining our strong underlying financials, rigorous governance, and active risk management.

We value our staff. It is only with their dedication we can provide the services and deliver the homes our beneficiaries need. This value is reflected in the way we treat our staff, in paying them fairly, providing training and support, as well as our focus on making Dolphin a great place to work.

As a charity any surpluses we generate are re-invested back into the delivery of our charitable objects. We take a long-term view and our approach to ownership and development reflects this.