Decision

North London Muslim Housing Association Limited (LH3859) - Regulatory Judgement: 13 August 2025

Updated 13 August 2025

Applies to England

Our Judgement

	Grade/Judgement	Change	Date of assessment
Consumer	C3 Our judgement is that there are serious failings in the landlord delivering the outcomes of the consumer standards and significant improvement is needed.	First grading	August 2025
Governance	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.	Downgrade	August 2025
Viability	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.	Regrade	August 2025

Reason for publication

We are publishing a regulatory judgement for North London Muslim Housing Association Limited (NLM) following an inspection completed in August 2025.

This regulatory judgement confirms a consumer grade of C3, a governance grade of G3 and a financial viability grade of V2.

Prior to this regulatory judgement, the governance and financial viability grades for NLM were last updated in December 2023 following a stability check to confirm a G1 grade for governance and a V1 grade for financial viability. This is the first time we have issued a consumer grade in relation to this landlord.

Summary of the decision

From the evidence and assurance gained during the inspection, our judgement is that there are serious failings in NLM delivering the outcomes of the consumer standards and significant improvement is needed, specifically in relation to the outcomes in our Safety and Quality Standard. Based on this assessment, we have concluded a C3 grade for NLM.

Our judgement is that the landlord does not meet our governance requirements. The regulatory inspection has found issues of serious regulatory concern that NLM is working with the regulator to address. There are weaknesses in NLM’s approach to board skills and succession planning and significant improvement is needed to its risk and control framework. This has meant the board of NLM has not been managing its affairs effectively and with an appropriate degree of skill, diligence, prudence and foresight. Based on this assessment, we have concluded a G3 grade for NLM.

NLM meets our financial viability requirements. It is meeting covenant requirements, has access to sufficient liquidity and is forecast to continue to meet its financial covenants under a reasonable range of adverse scenarios. NLM’s exposure to interest rate risk and reliance on fixed asset sales reduces its capacity to respond to adverse events. Based on this assessment, we have concluded a V2 grade for NLM.

How we reached our judgement

We carried out a planned regulatory inspection of NLM to assess how well it is delivering the outcomes of the consumer standards and meeting our governance and financial viability requirements. We considered all four of the consumer standards: Neighbourhood and Community Standard, Safety and Quality Standard, Tenancy Standard, and the Transparency, Influence and Accountability Standard.

We observed a board meeting and a tenant scrutiny panel, spoke with tenants, held meetings with NLM including with its non-executive directors and reviewed a wide range of documents provided by NLM.

Our regulatory judgement is based on a review of all the relevant information we obtained during the inspection as well as analysis of information supplied by NLM in its regulatory returns and other regulatory engagement activity.

Summary of findings 

Consumer – C3 – August 2025 

The Safety and Quality Standard requires landlords to identify and meet all legal requirements that relate to the health and safety of tenants in their homes and communal areas and ensure that all required actions arising from legally required health and safety assessments are carried out within appropriate timescales. Through our inspection, we found serious failings in the oversight, management and delivery of these outcomes in some areas of NLM’s landlord health and safety responsibilities.

We saw evidence that NLM had failed to take sufficient steps to ensure it understood and complied with its legal requirement, under the Building Safety Act 2022, to register all high-rise buildings (over 18 metres or 7 storeys and above) with the Building Safety Regulator. NLM has now completed the overdue registration for the high-rise building that had been omitted. In failing to register the high-rise building in question, NLM has also not met its responsibility, as Principal Accountable Person, to prepare a safety case report and have that available, so that it can be assessed when required to do so by the Building Safety Regulator.

NLM has plans in place to manage fire safety risks of its mid-rise buildings (11 to 18 metres) including through a schedule of external wall surveys for all mid-rise buildings which is partially complete. A programme of remediation is in progress with no high or medium priority fire risk assessment actions outstanding. However, we have limited assurance that NLM had taken sufficient mitigations to manage risks until the required remediation work is completed.  

We gained assurance over NLM’s delivery of outcomes in other areas of landlord health and safety except for its duty to manage asbestos. We saw evidence that NLM has failed to meet legal obligations to conduct asbestos surveys in the communal areas of buildings and must take action to protect tenants from potential asbestos risks.

NLM could not demonstrate that it has a credible plan in place to deliver a programme of surveys to identify and assess asbestos containing materials in communal areas. This is needed so that an accurate and up to date register can be maintained by NLM as a key part of an asbestos management plan. Until the plan is in place, we do not have assurance that NLM is managing the risks associated with asbestos including ensuring that properties where asbestos has been identified are on an appropriate reinspection programme. Since the inspection, reporting on landlord health and safety now includes information on asbestos and NLM has started to inform and advise tenants where asbestos is present in their homes.

The Safety and Quality Standard requires landlords to have an accurate and up-to-date understanding of the condition of their homes at an individual property level based on a physical assessment of all homes. We gained assurance that NLM has a good understanding of the condition of its homes, through a rolling programme of physical stock condition surveys which underpins its reporting on compliance with the Decent Homes Standard and informs its investment plans. NLM has an established approach to managing issues in tenants’ homes relating to damp, mould and condensation.

Through the inspection we saw evidence that NLM has an effective, efficient and timely repairs service that meets targets set by NLM. We gained assurance that there are arrangements in place so that information on vulnerabilities is used to prioritise tenants’ repair requests.

In relation to the Transparency, Influence and Accountability Standard, we saw evidence that NLM treats its tenants with fairness and respect. Through the inspection, NLM demonstrated a strong commitment to understanding its tenants and to providing a wide range of meaningful opportunities for tenants to influence and scrutinise NLM’s strategies, policies and services. This includes through its tenant scrutiny panel where we saw evidence that NLM actively responds to feedback to improve services and communication with tenants. NLM acknowledges that there is more it can do to strengthen its approach to using relevant information to understand the diverse needs of tenants and assess whether its housing and landlord services deliver fair and equitable outcomes for tenants.

Through the inspection we saw evidence that NLM ensures complaints are addressed fairly, effectively, and promptly. NLM regularly reports its complaints performance to the board and plans to improve the quality of information provided to meet the requirements of the Housing Ombudsman Service complaints handling code.

In relation to the Tenancy Standard, our inspection found evidence that NLM’s approach to lettings and allocations is transparent and that measures are in place to ensure terms of tenancy are appropriate and meet the needs of tenants.

In relation to the Neighbourhood and Community Standard, NLM’s approach to anti-social behaviour (ASB) is set out clearly in its policy, which is accessible on its website alongside information to tenants on how to raise ASB issues. We have assurance that NLM takes a victim-centred approach, works in partnership with other organisations, and undertakes a range of measures to support tenants experiencing ASB.

NLM is engaging constructively with us as it demonstrates that it is taking reasonable steps to identify and mitigate risks to tenants. We will engage with NLM intensively and seek evidence that gives us the assurance that sufficient change and progress is being made. Our priority will be that risks to tenants are adequately managed and mitigated.

Governance – G3 – August 2025

Based on evidence gained from the inspection, it is our judgement that NLM does not meet our governance requirements, resulting in a downgrade to G3. There are issues of serious regulatory concern that the landlord is working to address, in agreement with us. NLM has not met all the required governance outcomes and specific expectations in the Governance and Financial Viability Standard.

NLM was unable to provide evidence that it has ensured its governance arrangements are aligned with the activities and risks of the organisation. The board structure is comprised of elected members and a significant number of co-optees. These arrangements add complexity and limit effective succession planning.

Although NLM has appropriate arrangements in place to assess the effectiveness of its governance arrangements, it has not acted on the findings of its most recent external governance evaluation. NLM’s board has not fully considered or implemented recommendations to address weaknesses, including those that would support it having a robust approach to board composition, recruitment, skills and succession planning.

NLM’s board has not formally defined its agreed risk appetite and does not have sufficient arrangements in place to ensure it identifies and manages strategic risks to avoid undue risk exposure. Improvements are required to performance reporting to enable the board to monitor the delivery of its strategic objectives and effective management of strategic risks.

There is insufficient evidence that NLM has an appropriate, robust and prudent risk and control framework, and that it has adequately managed and addressed key risks including those relating to landlord health and safety. NLM has failed to keep complete and accurate records to facilitate the quality of reporting to its board that is required to provide sufficient assurance that it is effectively managing the risks associated with building safety.

Significant improvements are required to NLM’s risk, control and assurance approach for the board to have sufficient oversight of strategic risks and appropriate assurance that the controls used to manage risks are working. NLM has not had appropriate internal audit arrangements in place, meaning the board has not had the level of assurance it needs. NLM is now addressing this through a forward programme of internal audits. There is evidence that NLM has sought appropriate third-party advice and review in several areas, however, it has not demonstrably acted on the learning from these.

NLM holds its entire loan funding at variable rate debt, which means it is fully exposed to interest rate risk, and has not ensured treasury arrangements that maximise the resources it has for investing in its homes. NLM’s board agreed a treasury management strategy that requires a level of its debt to be at a fixed rate. Although we saw evidence that this has been discussed and challenged by the board, NLM has been in breach of the threshold set in its own treasury strategy over a prolonged period.

NLM is engaging positively with us and acknowledges the concerns identified through the inspection. In some areas it has moved quickly to put in place the necessary changes and we will work intensively with NLM to ensure it has an improvement plan in place that fully addresses the issues identified in this regulatory judgement.

Viability – V2 – August 2025

Based on evidence gained from the inspection, we have assurance that NLM has an adequately funded business plan, sufficient security in place, and is forecast to continue to meet its financial covenants under a reasonable range of adverse scenarios.

NLM’s financial plan shows a reliance on fixed asset sales and significant exposure to increases in interest rates. While having all its debt held at variable rates has delivered savings in the past, the outcome has been to reduce NLM’s financial capacity and resources.

NLM has increased investment in its existing homes based on up-to-date stock condition information. However, there remains uncertainty over the costs associated with building safety remediation until all required external wall surveys are completed.

NLM’s vulnerability to interest rate rises combined with the increased investment requirement has meant that NLM has had to enact mitigations including pausing development activity and pausing its planned cyclical maintenance programmes for two years. NLM has recently restarted its maintenance programme and is working through the backlog.

There is adequate financial reporting to NLM’s board, including quarterly management accounts, covenant performance reporting and details of loans. We saw evidence of NLM’s board engaging in stress testing and providing challenge on the adequacy of mitigation planning which needs to be further developed to clearly demonstrate the ability to withstand key risks where the plan is vulnerable.

Background to the judgement

About the landlord

NLM is a charitable community benefit society with 1,065 homes across five boroughs in London.

At 31 March 2024, NLM reported a turnover of £12.7m for the year and employs 26 full-time equivalent staff.

NLM is in the process of completing a 21-home development scheme after which NLM will pause all new development.

Our role and regulatory approach

We regulate for a viable, efficient, and well governed social housing sector able to deliver quality homes and services for current and future tenants.

We regulate at the landlord level to drive improvement in how landlords operate. By landlord we mean a registered provider of social housing. These can either be local authorities, or private registered providers (other organisations registered with us such as non-profit housing associations, co-operatives, or profit-making organisations).

We set standards which state outcomes that landlords must deliver. The outcomes of our standards include both the required outcomes and specific expectations we set. Where we find there are significant failures in landlords which we consider to be material to the landlord’s delivery of those outcomes, we hold them to account. Ultimately this provides protection for tenants’ homes and services and achieves better outcomes for current and future tenants. It also contributes to a sustainable sector which can attract strong investment.

We have a different role for regulating local authorities than for other landlords. This is because we have a narrower role for local authorities and the Governance and Financial Viability Standard, and Value for Money Standard do not apply. Further detail on which standards apply to different landlords can be found on our standards page.

We assess the performance of landlords through inspections and by reviewing data that landlords are required to submit to us. In Depth Assessments (IDAs) were one of our previous assessment processes, which are now replaced by our inspections programme from 1 April 2024. We also respond where there is an issue or a potential issue that may be material to a landlord’s delivery of the outcomes of our standards. We publish regulatory judgements that describe our view of landlords’ performance with our standards. We also publish grades for landlords with more than 1,000 social housing homes.

The Housing Ombudsman deals with individual complaints. When individual complaints are referred to us, we investigate if we consider that the issue may be material to a landlord’s delivery of the outcomes of our standards.

For more information about our approach to regulation, please see Regulating the standards.

Further information

• Regulating the standards

• Regulatory standards for landlords

Related documents

• Decent Homes Standard