Decision

Livin Housing Limited (L4538) - Regulatory Judgement: 14 January 2026

Updated 14 January 2026

Applies to England

Our Judgement

	Grade/Judgement	Change	Date of assessment
Consumer	C2 Our judgement is that there are some weaknesses in the landlord delivering the outcomes of the consumer standards and improvement is needed.	Based on previous assessment	November 2024
Governance	G1 Our judgement is that the landlord meets our governance requirements.	Assessed and unchanged	January 2026
Viability	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.	Regrade	January 2026

Reason for publication

We are publishing a regulatory judgement for Livin Housing Limited (Livin) following a stability check and responsive engagement completed in January 2026.

This regulatory judgement confirms a governance grade of G1 and a financial viability regrade to V1. Livin has a consumer grade of C2 from a planned inspection completed in November 2024.

Summary of the decision

Based on the relevant information and evidence we reviewed in carrying out the stability check and responsive engagement, our judgement is that Livin meets our viability requirements and has the financial capacity to deal with a wide range of adverse scenarios. Based on this assessment, we have concluded a viability regrade from V2 to V1 for Livin.

From the stability check, there is no evidence to indicate a change in governance grade is required. Livin’s governance grade remains G1.

This regulatory judgement is based on a stability check and responsive engagement which does not include a reassessment of Livin’s delivery of the outcomes of our consumer standards.

Prior to this regulatory judgement, the landlord’s most recent consumer, governance and financial viability grades were C2, G1 and V2, which were issued in November 2024 following an inspection.

During the inspection, we considered all four of the consumer standards: the Neighbourhood and Community Standard, the Safety and Quality Standard, the Tenancy Standard, and the Transparency, Influence and Accountability Standard.  

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

How we reached our judgement

We carried out a stability check of Livin as part of our annual stability check programme.

Our judgement about how well Livin is delivering the viability outcomes of our Governance and Financial Viability Standard is based on a review of a range of documents provided by Livin, as well as analysis of information supplied by Livin in its regulatory returns.

In confirming Livin’s governance grade as part of the stability check, our work was limited to verifying that the information contained in Livin’s regulatory returns did not appear inconsistent with its existing published governance grade.

Our stability checks do not assess a landlord’s delivery of the outcomes of our consumer standards.

Summary of findings

Consumer – C2 – November 2024

Below are the findings of our most recent regulatory judgement about Livin’s delivery of the outcomes of our consumer standards, which assessed Livin’s consumer grade as C2. The regulatory judgement was issued in November 2024 following a programmed inspection.

During the inspection Livin provided evidence-based assurance that it has appropriate systems in place to ensure the health and safety of its tenants in their homes and associated communal areas. Livin demonstrated that it understands its compliance position over landlord health and safety requirements. Its performance information demonstrated a good level of reported compliance with legal obligations.

Livin has some understanding of the condition of its homes at an individual property level but the inspection identified weaknesses in the quality and breadth of information. Livin has a programme in place to gain an accurate and up to date record of the condition of its homes through physical stock condition surveys, however at the time of our inspection it had not made sufficient progress in delivering this programme. Livin is able to demonstrate that it uses the information it holds to assess the quality and safety of its tenants’ homes and inform decision making on future investment in its homes. We will continue to engage with Livin while it delivers the actions required to complete the gaps in its understanding of the condition of its homes.

Livin has demonstrated that it provides an effective and timely repairs service to tenants. There is evidence it takes action to improve the service and outcomes for tenants when issues occur. Livin recognises the importance of its repairs service and has made changes to improve how tenants are able engage with the repairs service.

Livin has evidenced that when tenant complaints are received, it considers them and makes service improvements in response. Livin’s board considers updates on the nature of complaints received and ensures that an approach is in place to ensure learning from complaints.

In relation to the Neighbourhood and Community Standard, we gained assurance that Livin is working in partnership with relevant organisations and with residents to deter and tackle anti-social behaviour and hate incidents in the neighbourhoods in which it operates.

Livin has demonstrated that, in line with the Tenancy Standard, it seeks to offer tenures that are appropriate, taking into account the purpose of the accommodation, the needs of individual households, the sustainability of the community and the efficient use of social housing. 

Livin’s allocations policy sets out its approach to ensuring all properties are let in a fair and transparent way. We saw evidence that Livin is committed to sustainability of tenancies and seeks to ensure tenants are supported accordingly.

Overall Livin’s approach is delivering the outcomes of the consumer standards in relation to the Transparency, Influence and Accountability Standard. It has put in place training and development of its staff to further develop a culture of fairness and respect. Livin demonstrates an active approach to considering tenants’ diverse needs in the design and delivery of services and presented appropriate assurance that the tenant information it holds is used to support the delivery of fair and equitable services.

Livin provides a wide range of opportunities for tenants to influence and scrutinise its strategies, policies and services. There are clear arrangements in place through which Livin hears from tenants. There is also evidence that tenant scrutiny and feedback has directly and positively impacted service delivery. Livin has provided appropriate assurance that it makes effective use of its performance data to shape services and provides a range of information to tenants to support effective scrutiny.

Livin is strengthening the quality and consistency of performance reporting to board to ensure it has sufficient oversight of outcomes for tenants.

We continue to actively engage with Livin to monitor its progress in improving its delivery of the outcomes of our consumer standards.

Governance – G1 – January 2026

From the stability check, there is no evidence to indicate that a change in governance grade is required.

Prior to this regulatory judgement, we issued a regulatory judgement in November 2024 following a programmed inspection with Livin. Below are the findings in that judgement about Livin’s delivery of our governance requirements.

Based on the evidence gained from the inspection there is assurance that Livin’s governance arrangements enable it to effectively manage risk and adequately control the organisation, allowing it to deliver its objectives. Livin’s board demonstrated that it considers risk appetite in strategic decision making and that performance against strategic targets is monitored and challenged.

Livin 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.

We saw evidence that Livin has established and maintains clear roles, responsibilities and accountabilities within its leadership and governance structure. The relationship between its board and committees is working in line with its delegations to strengthen assurance in key areas of risk and compliance.

Continuing governance improvement is evidenced through annual effectiveness reviews and in depth periodic external governance reviews, the most recent of which was completed in December 2022.

Board member skills, experience and knowledge are aligned with the activities of the organisation and there is a structured approach to developing and appraising skills to support succession planning. We have seen evidence of this through board observation, meetings with non-executive directors and the executive team.

Livin’s risk management and control framework is aligned to its strategic risks. There is evidence of robust discussion and board challenge of the controls and assurance on strategic risks and of risks being managed effectively in practice. The inspection identified some areas for improvement that Livin is committed to delivering.

Livin’s board actively seeks and gains an appropriate level of assurance across a range of areas. There is evidence of how this assurance has been used to make improvements including on the approach to damp and mould cases, its repairs service and its approach to anti-social behaviour.

Board ownership of stress testing, mitigation strategies and wider governance over risks through regular and structured review of golden rules is evident. Reporting to board provides sufficient detail for the board to ensure effective oversight.

Viability – V1 – January 2026

Based on evidence gained from the stability check and responsive engagement, we have assurance that Livin meets the viability requirements of the Governance and Financial Viability Standard.

We have concluded there is appropriate assurance that Livin’s financial plans are consistent with, and support, its financial strategy. Livin has evidenced that it has an adequately funded business plan, sufficient security in place to support its financial plans, and forecasts that it will continue to meet its financial covenants under a wide range of adverse scenarios. Since our previous assessment, Livin’s financial performance and resilience has strengthened.

We have appropriate assurance that Livin’s board has effective oversight of loan covenant compliance and there is evidence of strong levels of forecast headroom with no reliance on sales income. Livin forecasts strong loan covenant interest cover, whilst continuing to deliver its development programme and invest in existing homes.

Background to the judgement

About the landlord

According to the 2025 statistical data return Livin owns 8,942 homes in the North East of England, predominantly in County Durham.

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