Housemartin - Risk and return review
Housemartin - Returns and loss rates
Housemartin – Pros & Cons
About Housemartin
What it is
Housemartin, formerly Assetz Exchange, is a UK peer-to-peer platform where you lend to companies that each own one home used for supported living, rented to charities and housing associations. The rent pays your interest. Up to 31 October 2025 it had arranged £34.0 million of loans on 89 loans and 140 properties, and paid investors £5.6 million in interest, £1.7 million of it in the year to October 2025.
How it works
You choose properties yourself and can start with £1, in a normal account or a tax-free ISA. Each loan runs as long as the lease, and interest is paid monthly; most rates rise with inflation each year in line with the rent. You can buy and sell loan parts on its market, The Exchange, where investors set the price. Major decisions on a property are taken by majority vote of its investors.
Returns
Housemartin advertises up to 7.83% a year (AER), after its fees. Properties listed in November 2026 showed 7.77% to 7.91%. This is the rate on offer, not a realised average: the platform publishes the interest paid in pounds, not as a yearly return across all investors.
Losses and defaults
No loan has defaulted. In its outcomes statement for the year to 31 October 2025, Housemartin reports an actual default rate of 0.0% (unpaid for more than 90 days) across all loans, and expects 0.10% over their life. This is partly due to the structure: a fall in property value or rent does not count as a default. Losses would show up when a property is sold. Across resolved loans investors had a net gain of £159,352 by October 2025, with a loss of £16,319 in 2021; 12 properties have been sold. Four rent interruptions have occurred, and properties more than 30 days in rent arrears are marked on the site.
What secures your money
Each property sits in its own company, which owns it outright with no bank mortgage. Investors lend to that company, whose rules say all profits go to investors and major decisions, such as a sale, are made by investor vote. The tenant is a charity or housing association on a lease of 5 to 15 years, paying rent whether or not the home is occupied. There is no buyback, guarantee or provision fund. Each property has an independent survey and valuation shown on its page. The loan covers the purchase price plus stamp duty, legal fees, the arrangement fee, any refurbishment and a contingency fund, so it can be higher than the property's market value: if a property is sold, investors can get back less than they lent. Across resolved loans, investors had a net realised capital gain of £159,352 to 31 October 2025, with one loss year (£16,319 in 2021). Four rent interruptions have occurred: three lease breaks and one tenant insolvency or non-payment.
Who runs it and its licence
The platform is run by Housemartin Property Limited (company 09285310, London), the same company that ran Assetz Exchange. It is authorised and regulated by the FCA, firm registration number 668931. Housemartin earns an arrangement fee when a property is bought, a monitoring fee from the rent and a fee when a property is sold, so its income depends on the deals it lists.
Fees
There are no trading fees. The yields shown are after Housemartin's fees: an arrangement fee included in the loan (stated in each loan's conditions), a monitoring fee as a share of the gross rent, and a 2% fee on the gross sale price if investors vote to sell a property. When you buy on The Exchange, the arrangement fee is part of the price you pay.
Getting your money out
You can sell loan parts on The Exchange at any time, but only if another investor buys, and possibly below what you paid; cumulative trading reached £36.8 million by October 2025. Otherwise your money stays in until the lease ends or investors vote to sell the property. Pledges to new loans cannot be withdrawn.
Our view
Return: Low, from an advertised rate of up to 7.83% a year with no realised average published. Risk: Very low (higher means more risk), with no defaults and a small net capital gain on resolved loans to October 2025, though a loan can exceed the property's value. Risk-return: Low, because only an advertised rate is available.
Regulation
License / Regulation: Housemartin Property Limited (company 09285310), formerly trading as Assetz Exchange, is authorised and regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority, firm registration number 668931, and runs a peer-to-peer lending platform. Loans are not covered by the FSCS.
Functionality
For Investors
Useful Information
Assetz Exchange renamed itself Housemartin and moved to a new website. The company is the same, Housemartin Property Limited (09285310), with the same FCA authorisation (668931) and the same supported-living loans.
Yes. Housemartin Property Limited is authorised and regulated by the FCA, firm registration number 668931. The loans are not covered by the FSCS.
Housemartin holds investors' money as client money under the FCA's rules, apart from its own funds. It does not name the bank on its public pages.
You can start investing with just £1.
Up to 7.83% a year is advertised after fees (November 2026); no realised average is published. No loan had defaulted by 31 October 2025, and resolved loans showed a net capital gain of £159,352, with a loss of £16,319 in 2021.
You lend to a company that owns one property outright, with no bank mortgage, let to a charity or housing association. There is no buyback or guarantee. Because the loan includes purchase costs, a sale can return less than you lent.
You can sell loan parts on The Exchange if another investor buys, possibly at a discount. Otherwise the money stays in until the lease ends or investors vote to sell.
No trading fees. Advertised yields are after Housemartin's arrangement and monitoring fees, and a 2% fee on the gross sale price applies if a property is sold.
Yes. You can open an ISA with Housemartin or transfer one from another provider, with tax-free income. The ISA does not change the risk of the loans.
If a tenant stops paying, interest stops until a new tenant is found or investors vote to sell. If Housemartin failed, client money is returned under the FCA's rules, less insolvency costs, and its wind-down plan aims to keep the loans managed; an administrator could sell properties, possibly at a loss.
