Decision

Golding Homes Limited (LH4402) - Regulatory Judgement: 25 March 2026

Updated 25 March 2026

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	March 2026
Governance	G1 Our judgement is that the landlord meets our governance requirements.	Assessed and unchanged	March 2026
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	March 2026

Reason for publication

We are publishing a regulatory judgement for Golding Homes Limited (Golding Homes) following an inspection completed in March 2026.

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 Golding Homes were last updated in December 2024 following a stability check to confirm a G1 grade for governance and a V2 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 assurance gained during the inspection, based on the evidence provided by Golding Homes, our judgement is that overall Golding Homes is delivering the outcomes of the consumer standards. Based on this assessment, we have concluded a C1 grade for Golding Homes.

Our judgement is that Golding Homes meets our governance requirements. Golding Homes 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 objectives. Based on this assessment, we have concluded a G1 grade for Golding Homes.

Our judgement is that Golding Homes meets our financial viability requirements and demonstrates sufficient financial capacity to manage a reasonable range of adverse scenarios. Golding Homes has access to sufficient liquidity and is meeting covenant requirements, however accelerated investment in existing homes has reduced its capacity to respond to adverse events. Based on this assessment, we have concluded a V2 grade for Golding Homes.

How we reached our judgement

We carried out an inspection of Golding Homes 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 meeting, a Customer Experience Committee and a Customer Insight Group meeting. We also spoke with tenants, held meetings with Golding Homes, including its non-executive directors, interviewed staff and reviewed a wide range of documents provided by Golding Homes.

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

Summary of findings  

Consumer – C1 – March 2026

In relation to the Safety and Quality standard, Golding Homes provided evidence-based assurance that it has appropriate systems in place to ensure the health and safety of tenants in their homes and communal areas. We saw evidence that processes are in place to manage damp and mould effectively and arrangements are in place to deliver the requirements of Awaab’s Law.

There is evidence that Golding Homes keeps accurate and up to date records of the condition of its homes through physical surveys and has a process in place for keeping this information up to date. Golding Homes demonstrated that it uses the information it holds on the condition and safety of its homes to inform decisions on future investment to maintain and improve its homes.

Golding Homes demonstrated that it provides an effective, efficient and timely repairs service to tenants, and we saw evidence that it takes action to improve outcomes for tenants when issues occur. Golding Homes has invested significantly to increase the efficiency and productivity of its repairs service to deliver improved outcomes for tenants.

In relation to the Neighbourhood and Community Standard, Golding Homes works with relevant organisations to deter and tackle anti-social behaviour and hate incidents in the communities where it provides homes. Feedback from tenants has shaped Golding Homes’s response to anti-social behaviour, particularly around timeliness and communication tone.

In relation to the Tenancy Standard, Golding Homes provided evidence that its approach to lettings and allocations is fair and transparent, and that it offers a range of tenures that are appropriate for the homes it lets and meets the needs of tenants.

We saw evidence that Golding Homes is delivering the outcomes of the Transparency, Influence and Accountability Standard. Golding Homes provided evidence that it treats tenants with fairness and respect, and that it uses the information it holds about its tenants to deliver services that meet their needs.

Golding Homes demonstrated that its tenant engagement and scrutiny arrangements provide a wide range of meaningful opportunities for tenants to influence and scrutinise its strategies, policies and services. We saw evidence that tenant insight has positively impacted service delivery in a number of areas including repairs and complaints services. Golding Homes provided assurance that it makes effective use of its performance data to improve its services and provides a range of information to tenants to support effective scrutiny.

Overall, we found that Golding Homes ensures complaints are addressed fairly, promptly and effectively and understands the impact on tenants when it gets things wrong. We also gained assurance that Golding Homes actively seeks to learn from complaints and uses this information to make improvements. 

Governance – G1 – March 2026

Based on the evidence gained from the inspection, we have assurance that Golding Homes’s governance arrangements enable it to effectively manage its risks and adequately control the organisation, allowing it to deliver its objectives. We saw evidence of board challenge on performance against strategic objectives and consideration of risk appetite in strategic decision making. 

Golding Homes 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. An emphasis on investing in existing homes is balanced alongside a measured programme to develop new homes.

We saw evidence that Golding Homes has an effective business planning, risk management and control framework in place, with a demonstrable understanding of its risk profile, stress testing and mitigations. We have assurance that key risks are being managed effectively, including in relation to financial resilience, development, damp and mould, and landlord health and safety. Golding Homes’s board actively seeks and gains an appropriate level of assurance across a range of areas.

Golding Homes provided assurance that it has established and maintains clear roles, responsibilities and accountabilities within its leadership and governance structure. We gained assurance that the relationship between the board and committees is working in line with its delegations to strengthen assurance in key areas of risk and compliance.

Board member skills, experience and knowledge are aligned with the activities of the organisation and there is a structured approach to reviewing, developing and appraising skills which feeds into succession planning. We saw evidence of this through board observation, meetings with non-executive directors and executive team members as well as reviewing relevant documents including meeting minutes.

We saw evidence that an internal board effectiveness review is undertaken annually, and an externally facilitated review is completed every three years.

Viability – V2 – March 2026

Based on the evidence gained through the inspection we have concluded that there is appropriate assurance that Golding Homes’s financial plans are consistent with, and support, its financial strategy. Golding Homes has appropriately evidenced that it has an adequately funded business plan, sufficient security in place to support its financial plans, and is forecast to continue to meet its financial covenants under a reasonable range of adverse scenarios. Golding Homes’s board has effective oversight of covenant compliance, with regular reporting in place on its actual and forecast position.

Golding Homes is balancing increased investment into its existing homes alongside its development activity which is putting pressure on its financial performance. In recent years Golding Homes has increased its investment into existing homes, to address historic under investment.

Background to the judgement

About the landlord

Golding Homes is a community benefit society which owns and manages around 7,800 social housing homes in and around Maidstone, Kent.

Golding Homes’s turnover for the year ended 31 March 2025 was £66.8m and it employs the full-time equivalent of 303 staff.

Golding Homes intends to develop around 1,675 homes for rent and sale between 2026 and 2035.

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