RSH publishes ten regulatory judgements
RSH has published regulatory judgements as part of its inspection and stability check programmes
The Regulator of Social Housing has today (Wednesday 28 January) published regulatory judgements for ten social landlords, as part of its inspection and stability check programmes.
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council received a C1 grading following an inspection, meaning it meets the outcomes of RSH’s consumer standards, identifying when issues occur and putting plans in place to remedy and minimise recurrence.
Cheshire Peaks & Plains Housing Trust received C1/G1/V2 gradings, meaning that while it meets the consumer and governance standards and it has the financial capacity to deal with a reasonable range of adverse scenarios, it needs to manage material risks to its viability to ensure continued compliance.
Meanwhile the City of Wolverhampton Council and St Albans City and District Council both received C2 gradings, meaning there are some weaknesses in their delivery of the outcomes of the consumer standards and improvement is needed.
The City of Wolverhampton Council needs to improve data on its homes and has plans to bring more homes up to the Decent Homes Standard. Though its repairs service meets our requirements, the council also needs to improve its communication with tenants, including on repairs timescales.
Our inspection of St Albans found that while it has a good understanding of its homes and the vast majority meet the Decent Homes Standard, there were some weaknesses in its oversight and reporting of remedial actions from health and safety checks. It also needs to make improvements in meeting its target in relation to the timely completion of routine repairs.
RSH also published stability check outcomes for six landlords. All retained their current governance and viability gradings except Ocean Housing Group Limited, which was downgraded to a G2 governance grading. It retained its V2 grading.
Ocean Housing needs to improve the effectiveness of its risk and control framework in relation to oversight and management of strategic risks associated with its unregistered subsidiary, Gilbert and Goode.
Ocean Housing has also not ensured an effective approach to procurement, contract management and budgetary control in relation to its repairs service. Weaknesses in procurement of works and contract monitoring resulted in unknown overspends against its repairs budget.
Kate Dodsworth, Chief of Regulatory Engagement, said:
“While it is encouraging to see more landlords achieve C1 gradings as our regulation drives improvements across the sector, there is nevertheless no room for complacency – even for those landlords that receive the highest grades. We will continue to root out issues through our inspections, stability checks and other regulatory tools.
“Social landlords are facing intensifying risks so good governance remains more important than ever. Weaknesses in governance. can undermine a landlord’s ability to maintain financial viability or to provide good homes and services to tenants.
“We will continue to engage constructively with these landlords where there are issues to ensure things are put right promptly.”
Notes to editors
The full list of judgements published today is provided in the table below.
| Landlord | Consumer | Governance | Viability | Engagement Process |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council | C1 | - | - | Inspection |
| Broadacres Housing Association Limited | C2 | G2 | V2 | Stability Check |
| Cheshire Peaks & Plains Housing Trust Limited | C1 | G1 | V2 | Inspection |
| City of Wolverhampton Council | C2 | - | - | Inspection |
| Gloucester City Homes Limited | - | G1 | V2 | Stability Check |
| Ocean Housing Group Limited | - | G2 (downgrade) | V2 | Stability Check and Responsive Engagement |
| Places for People Group Limited | C1 | G1 | V2 | Stability Check |
| Plus Dane Housing Limited | C2 | G2 | V2 | Stability Check |
| Sovereign Network Group | C2 | G1 | V2 | Stability Check |
| St Albans City and District Council | C2 | - | - | Inspection |
- On 1 April 2024 RSH introduced new 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 carries out stability checks on all housing associations, and other private registered providers, who own 1,000 homes or more. The stability checks are a yearly exercise. We look at the financial information PRPs have submitted to us (including their most recent business plan and annual accounts) and consider if there are any risks which might result in a change to their financial viability or governance gradings. The checks do not include local authorities because our Governance and Financial Viability Standard does not apply to them.
- RSH publishes gradings for consumer, governance and viability. Local authorities only receive consumer gradings.
| Grading | Description |
|---|---|
| C1 | Our judgement is that overall the landlord is delivering the outcomes of the consumer standards. The landlord has demonstrated that it identifies when issues occur and puts plans in place to remedy and minimise recurrence. |
| C2 | Our judgement is that there are some weaknesses in the landlord delivering the outcomes of the consumer standards and improvement is needed. |
| C3 | Our judgement is that there are serious failings in the landlord delivering the outcomes of the consumer standards and significant improvement is needed. |
| C4 | Our judgement is that there are very serious failings in the landlord delivering the outcomes of the consumer standards. The landlord must make fundamental changes so that improved outcomes are delivered. |
| Grading | Description |
|---|---|
| G1 | Our judgement is that the landlord meets our governance requirements. |
| G2 | Our judgement is that the landlord meets our governance requirements but needs to improve some aspects of its governance arrangements to support continued compliance. |
| G3 | Our judgement is that the landlord does not meet our governance requirements. There are issues of serious regulatory concern and in agreement with us the landlord is working to improve its position. |
| G4 | Our judgement is that the landlord does not meet our governance requirements. There are issues of serious regulatory concern, and the landlord is subject to regulatory intervention or enforcement action. |
| Grading | Description |
|---|---|
| V1 | Our judgement is that the landlord meets our viability requirements and has the financial capacity to deal with a wide range of adverse scenarios. |
| V2 | Our judgement is that the landlord meets our viability requirements. It has the financial capacity to deal with a reasonable range of adverse scenarios but needs to manage material risks to ensure continued compliance. |
| V3 | Our judgement is that the landlord does not meet our viability requirements. There are issues of serious regulatory concern and in agreement with us the landlord is working to improve its position. |
| V4 | Our judgement is that the landlord does not meet our viability requirements. There are issues of serious regulatory concern, and the landlord is subject to regulatory intervention or enforcement action. |
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