Decision

Coastline Housing Limited (LH4165) - Regulatory Judgement: 24 September 2025

Updated 24 September 2025

Applies to England

Our Judgement

	Grade/Judgement	Change	Date of assessment
Consumer	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.	First grading	September 2025
Governance	G1 Our judgement is that the landlord meets our governance requirements.	Assessed and unchanged	September 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.	Assessed and unchanged	September 2025

Reason for publication

We are publishing a regulatory judgement for Coastline Housing Limited (Coastline) following an inspection completed in September 2025.

This regulatory judgement confirms a consumer grade of C1, a governance grade of G1 and a financial viability grade of V2.

Prior to this regulatory judgement, the governance and financial viability grades for Coastline were last updated in December 2024 following a stability check which confirmed grades of G1 and V2. 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 we have concluded that Coastline is delivering the outcomes of the consumer standards. Based on this assessment, we have concluded a C1 grade for Coastline. 

Our judgement is that Coastline meets our governance requirements. Coastline has provided evidence to demonstrate the effectiveness of its governance arrangements and that it continues to effectively manage the risks of its activities, allowing it to deliver its strategic and charitable objectives. Based on this assessment, we have concluded a G1 grade for Coastline.

Our judgement is that Coastline meets our financial viability requirements and has capacity to manage a reasonable range of adverse scenarios, but needs to manage material risks to ensure continued compliance. Coastline continues to manage and deliver an increased development and sales programme, along with increased exposure to interest rate risk as debt increases to support the development programme. Coastline has provided appropriate assurance that it has access to sufficient liquidity and adequate funding in place. Based on this assessment, we have concluded a V2 grade for Coastline.

How we reached our judgement

We carried out an inspection of Coastline to assess how well it is delivering the outcomes of the consumer standards and meeting our governance and financial viability requirements, as part of our planned regulatory inspection programme. During the inspection, 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.

During the inspection we observed a board and customer voice meeting, spoke with tenants, held meetings with Coastline including its non-executive directors, interviewed staff, and reviewed a wide range of documents provided by Coastline. 

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

Summary of findings 

Consumer – C1 – September 2025 

During the inspection, Coastline provided evidence-based assurance that it has appropriate systems for ensuring the health and safety of its tenants in their homes and associated communal areas. Coastline demonstrated that it has a good understanding of its compliance with landlord health and safety requirements, including regular independent and expert assurance across all statutory compliance activity. We saw evidence that this assurance includes an assessment of whether the information Coastline holds is correct, complete, and up to date.

We saw evidence that Coastline keeps an accurate record of the condition of its homes at an individual property level through physical surveys of all homes, and has a process for keeping this information up to date. Coastline has demonstrated that it uses its understanding of the quality and safety of tenants’ homes to make decisions on future investment.

We gained assurance that Coastline provides an effective, efficient and timely repairs service to tenants through an in-house repairs and maintenance team supported by specialist external contractors where appropriate. Coastline regularly reviews performance, with input from tenants, and makes changes to strengthen its repairs service improving service delivery.

In relation to the Transparency, Influence and Accountability Standard, Coastline was able to demonstrate that it considers tenants’ diverse needs in the design and delivery of services. It recognises that it needs to continue to collect and update the tenant information it holds and has plans in place to do this.

Coastline provided evidence to demonstrate that it regularly reviews performance information on complaints handling. It has measures in place to ensure complaints are addressed fairly, effectively and promptly, and it takes action to identify themes from complaints to improve its service delivery. Coastline responds to complaints within target timescales. It recognises that the numbers of complaints is relatively low and is taking action to ensure tenants know how to make a complaint.

We saw evidence that Coastline provides a wide range of meaningful opportunities for tenants to influence and scrutinise its strategies, policies and services. There are clear arrangements in place through which tenants can share their views, and we saw evidence that feedback from tenants has directly and positively impacted service delivery and strategic direction.

Coastline has provided appropriate assurance that it makes effective use of its performance information to shape services and that it provides a range of information to tenants to support effective scrutiny. Improvements made as a result of scrutiny reviews by tenants include changes to repairs and to Coastline’s approach to tackling anti-social behaviour (ASB).

In relation to the Neighbourhood and Community Standard, Coastline provided evidence that it works with relevant organisations to deter and tackle ASB, hate crime and domestic abuse in neighbourhoods where it provides social housing. Coastline’s board receives regular reports on ASB performance and there has been scrutiny of this by tenants.

In relation to the Tenancy Standard, Coastline provided evidence that its 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. There are a range of measures in place to support tenancy sustainment including helping tenants to access financial support. 

Governance – G1 – September 2025

Based on evidence obtained from the inspection, we found that Coastline’s governance arrangements enable it to effectively manage its risks and adequately control the organisation, allowing it to deliver its objectives. Coastline’s board demonstrated that it provides challenge on performance against the organisation’s strategic objectives and consideration of risk appetite in strategic decision making.

Coastline has provided evidence that it has an effective business planning, risk management and control framework, with a good understanding of its risk profile, stress testing and mitigations. We gained assurance that key risks are being managed effectively, including in relation to stock investment and building safety and compliance. Coastline’s board seeks an appropriate level of assurance on the effectiveness of controls in place to manage risks, including through the internal audit programme, and needs to continue to ensure that it is delivering actions from reviews in a timely way. Coastline uses its stress testing effectively to understand which risks have the greatest impact on its financial plan and delivery of strategic objectives.

Coastline has provided appropriate assurance that its board proactively reviews its approach to delivering against its purpose and regularly considers alternative options to ensure it is achieving value for money in making best use of resources. Coastline was also able to provide evidence that it has established and maintains clear roles, responsibilities and accountabilities within its leadership and governance structure. We saw evidence that reporting to board provides sufficient detail to ensure effective oversight.

We gained assurance that board members’ skills, experience and knowledge are aligned with the activities of the organisation and that there is a structured approach to developing and appraising skills, which feeds into succession planning. Coastline has made changes to its governance arrangements to improve efficiency and ensure a balance of skills and experience on its board and committees. We saw evidence of this through board observation, meetings with non-executive directors and the executive team.

We saw evidence of continuing governance improvement through annual and periodic external governance effectiveness reviews. The latest external in-depth review was carried out in 2024 with the recommendations incorporated into a governance action plan which the board monitors progress against.

Viability – V2 – September 2025

Based on evidence gained through the inspection, we gained assurance that Coastline’s financial plans are consistent with and support its financial strategy. Coastline 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.

Whilst Coastline is not reliant on surpluses from sales to achieve covenant compliance, it continues to manage and deliver an increased development and sales programme, along with increased exposure to interest rate risk as debt increases to support the development programme. Coastline also continues to manage risks associated with the delivery of its supported housing contracts.

Background to the judgement

About the landlord

Coastline is a registered charity which owns and manages over 5,200 homes in Cornwall. 

The group employs 341 full-time equivalent staff. Group turnover for the year ended 31 March 2024 was £48.2m. 

Coastline plans to develop around 1,350 homes by 2030, including homes for social and affordable rent and shared ownership. 

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 new 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