Consumer upgrade for housing association
RSH publishes regulatory judgements for East Midlands Housing Group and Lancaster City Council
East Midlands Housing (Emh) Group received a C1 consumer upgrade in regulatory judgements published by the Regulator of Social Housing today (Wednesday 12 August 2026).
Emh group previously had a consumer grade of C2 from an inspection completed in November 2024. Subsequent responsive engagement with the regulator focused on the delivery of its improvement strategy.
Emh group demonstrated it had strengthened its arrangements for ensuring that tenants’ views are considered in strategic decision making about how landlord services will be delivered.
There have also been improvements in its customer service and complaints handling, which have led to a reduction in the number of complaints.
Emh also has a governance grade of G1 and a financial viability grade of V2.
RSH has also published a first consumer grade for Lancaster City Council of C2 following inspection.
RSH identified some weaknesses in Lancaster CC delivering the outcomes of the consumer standards, showing improvement is needed, specifically in relation to the outcomes in the Safety and Quality Standard and the Transparency, Influence and Accountability Standard.
Lancaster CC is broadly delivering repairs in a timely way for its tenants, though RSH found it had a backlog of repairs. A plan was in place to complete most of the overdue repairs by the end of November.
Lancaster CC demonstrated a respectful and positive culture towards tenants, and engaged tenants told RSH that they felt listened to and valued. However, the local authority does not have comprehensive information about the characteristics and diversity of its tenants, restricting its ability to deliver fair and equitable outcomes.
Deputy Chief Executive Kate Dodsworth said: “Understanding tenants is fundamental to effective social housing. Landlords can only deliver fair, accessible and accountable services when they understand the diverse needs of their residents and use that insight to shape decision-making and improve outcomes.”
ENDS
Notes to editors
The full list of judgements published today is provided in the table below.
| Landlord | Consumer grade | Governance Grade | Viability Grade | Engagement Process |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Midlands Housing Group | C1 (upgrade) | G1 (assessed and unchanged) | V2 (assessed and unchanged) | Responsive |
| Lancaster City Council | C2 (first grading) | - | - | Inspection |
- On 1 April 2024 RSH introduced revised consumer standards for social housing landlords, designed to drive long-term improvements in the sector. It also began a programme of landlord inspections. The changes are a result of the Social Housing Regulation Act 2023 and include stronger powers to hold landlords to account. More information about RSH’s approach is available in its document Reshaping Consumer Regulation.
- More information about RSH’s responsive engagement, programmed inspections and consumer gradings is also available on its website.
- RSH promotes a viable, efficient and well-governed social housing sector able to deliver more and better social homes. It does this by setting standards and carrying out robust regulation focusing on driving improvement in social landlords, including local authorities, and ensuring that housing associations are well-governed, financially viable and offer value for money. It takes appropriate action if the outcomes of the standards are not being delivered.
- RSH publishes gradings for consumer, governance and viability. Local authorities only receive consumer gradings. More information can be found on our How we approach regulatory judgements and gradings page.
- We do not issue grades to small landlords (under 1,000 homes) and only publish or update regulatory judgements where we consider there to be serious weaknesses or failings in a landlord’s delivery of the outcomes of our standards.
- For media enquiries please contact vicky.moore@rsh.gov.uk or christian.cosby@rsh.gov.uk.