The board are used to overcoming adversity as last year’s AGM had to be cancelled with only a few hours’ notice due to the threat of a gas explosion! No such drama this year and all went to plan with a Special General Meeting held beforehand to agree a rule change.

The outgoing chair, Bob McDougal, highlighted the improvements made in the organisation during his five years at the helm, going from high engagement with the Scottish Housing Regulator to submitting an Assurance Statement in October 2019 which was complimented by the Regulator as innovative in its approach and an exemplar of good practice.

Although standing down as chair, the good news is that Bob remains a board member and MHA continues to benefits from his experience, expertise and professionalism.

As well as some long-serving board members leaving and moving on with heartfelt thanks, the AGM also saw five new board members joining to ensure that the MHA board remains vibrant, focussed, diverse and alert to the needs of its customers and staff.

At the subsequent board meeting, members were delighted to elect Iain Strachan as the new chair.

Iain joined the MHA board in 2017 and has been the vice chair since 2019. He is a solicitor and chief procurement officer within a local authority with extensive experience of delivering strong governance and risk management in the public sector, as well as significant legal experience in both private practice and the public sector. Iain has a strong interest in housing matters, and the vital role housing has in helping deliver and support strong local communities.

He said: “I think MHA is a fantastic organisation, and it is very fortunate to have such a committed and hard-working team of staff, delivering excellent services to our customers. Undoubtedly, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy means there will be challenges ahead for our tenants and our community, leaving aside the additional uncertainties from Brexit.

“For me, this makes what we do and how we tackle these challenges even more important so that we can harness the knowledge and experience of staff and Board and keep building on our recent successes and high performance.”