Notting Hill Genesis (4880) - Regulatory Judgement: 28 October 2026
Updated 28 October 2026
Applies to England
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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. |
Based on previous assessment | November 2024 |
| 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 |
Based on previous assessment | November 2024 |
| 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 | October 2026 |
Reason for publication
We are publishing a regulatory judgement for Notting Hill Genesis (NHG) following a stability check completed in October 2026 and ongoing responsive engagement.
This regulatory judgement confirms a financial viability grade of V2.
NHG’s most recent consumer and governance grades remain C3 and G3. These were issued in November 2024 following a programmed inspection and since then we have engaged intensively with NHG as it delivers the required improvements.
Summary of the decision
Based on the relevant information and evidence we reviewed in carrying out our responsive engagement and stability check, our judgement is that NHG continues to meet our viability requirements and has the financial capacity to deal with a reasonable range of adverse scenarios. However, it needs to manage material risks to ensure it continues to meet those requirements. We have therefore concluded a V2 grade for NHG.
Based on our inspection that concluded in November 2024, our judgement is that there are serious failings in NHG delivering the outcomes of the consumer standards and significant improvement is needed. NHG’s consumer grade remains C3 based on that assessment.
Based on our inspection that concluded in November 2024, our judgement is that NHG does not meet our governance requirements. There are issues of serious regulatory concern and in agreement with us, NHG is working to improve its position. NHG’s governance grade remains G3 based on that assessment.
How we reached our judgement
We carried out a stability check of NHG as part of our annual stability check programme. This regulatory judgement does not include refreshed consumer or governance grades for NHG.
Our judgement about how well NHG is delivering the viability requirements of our Governance and Financial Viability Standard is based on a review of a range of relevant information and documents, as well as analysis of information supplied by NHG in its regulatory returns.
Prior to this stability check, we concluded an inspection of NHG in November 2024, which considered how well NHG was delivering the outcomes of the consumer standards and meeting our governance and financial viability requirements as part of our planned inspection programme.
During the inspection, we considered all of the consumer standards that were in place at the time: 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 resident forum meeting, spoke with tenants, held meetings with NHG including with its non-executive directors, and reviewed a wide range of documents provided to us by NHG. Our regulatory judgement considered all the relevant information we obtained during the inspection.
Following our inspection NHG entered a period of intensive engagement with us which will continue until it has delivered the required improvements set out below in the consumer and governance findings. We have accepted a voluntary undertaking from NHG’s board which sets out its plans for recovery. We actively monitor progress with this and continue to review the pace and quality of NHG’s improvement activity, and will take action should this not meet our expectations.
Summary of findings
Consumer – C3 – November 2024
NHG’s most recent consumer grade of C3 was issued in November 2024 following a programmed inspection.
Below is the summary of findings from our inspection about NHG’s delivery of the outcomes of our consumer standards. We continue to engage intensively with NHG to monitor its progress in improving its delivery of the outcomes of our consumer standards.
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. During the inspection of NHG we found serious failings in the delivery of these outcomes.
Although NHG reports overall satisfactory levels of performance in meeting legal requirements there are significant gaps in its health and safety compliance information in relation to third party managed buildings. There are also issues with completing fire remediation actions. Although NHG has demonstrated some progress in completing these actions there continue to be challenges in managing the delivery of this programme of remedial works.
NHG has been unable to identify whether all legal requirements have been met in relation to a significant number of homes managed by external managing agents. NHG is now taking steps to ensure it has the necessary health and safety information for these buildings. Dedicated resource has been put in place and system enhancements are in progress to deliver the improvements needed.
NHG has provided evidence that it is proactively managing building safety risks including an up to date programme of fire risk assessments. However, NHG had a significant backlog of over 2,000 fire remediation actions arising from those assessments and although actions are being completed at an increased rate, the volume of overdue actions is high with some overdue by at least twelve months. Urgent actions have been completed on time and NHG has put in place appropriate mitigations while the backlog remains. NHG has a revised improvement plan, that it is monitoring closely, and we have assurance that its board has sought external advice.
NHG is not meeting its own timescales for the completion of its repairs, maintenance and planned improvements, and this has been a factor in creating a repairs backlog. Following a review of its repairs service, prompted by feedback from tenants, NHG is taking action to make improvements including a new centralised repairs service, increased training for staff, procurement of new contractors and enhancements to systems. This revised approach is not yet delivering the required outcomes for tenants.
The Safety and Quality Standard also requires landlords to have an accurate and up to date understanding of the condition of its homes at an individual property level based on a physical assessment of all homes and ensure that homes meet the requirements of the Decent Homes Standard (DHS). Through our inspection we identified that although NHG has a programme in place to gain an accurate and up to date record of the condition of its homes at an individual property level through physical surveys, it has not made sufficient progress and just over 50% of homes have had a survey in the last five years. We saw evidence that NHG has a range of ways to collect and update information about the condition of its homes. However, it needs to continue to deliver its programme of physical surveys in order to have a suitably detailed understanding on which to form a reliable view of compliance with the DHS, identify risks to tenants, and inform investment plans.
The Transparency, Influence and Accountability Standard sets out the outcomes landlords must deliver in relation to being open with tenants and treating them with fairness and respect so that tenants can access services, raise complaints, influence decision making and hold their landlord to account. It also sets out requirements for landlords to provide meaningful opportunities for tenants to influence and scrutinise strategies, policies and procedures.
We gained assurance that NHG treats its tenants with fairness and respect and through the inspection NHG demonstrated that it collects and uses information about its tenants to improve delivery of services and access to those services by tenants. NHG has acknowledged that there is more it can do to improve the breadth and quality of information it holds about the diverse needs of its tenants, particularly in relation to vulnerabilities, and is taking action to address this.
Following consultation with its tenants, NHG launched a new tenant engagement approach with the aim of diversifying and expanding the number of tenants involved in engagement and feedback. There is a clear link from the newly formed resident forum to NHG’s governance and there are examples of tenants’ influence on changes to policies and accessibility of information to tenants. NHG recognises that this work is at an early stage and it will take time for the impact of the new model on decision making and delivery of services to be demonstrated.
The Transparency, Influence and Accountability Standard also requires landlords to address complaints fairly, effectively and promptly. Through our inspection we found limited evidence to provide assurance that NHG is achieving this. NHG’s volume of complaints reduced between 2022-23 and 2023-24 but the complexity has increased and improvement is needed in the time taken to respond to complaints. NHG is taking steps to improve its complaints handling with a new centralised complaint service and the board is monitoring progress closely.
In relation to the Tenancy Standard, our inspection found evidence that NHG’s approach to lettings and allocations is transparent and that measures are in place to monitor adherence to its policies.
In relation to the Neighbourhood and Community Standard, NHG’s approach to anti-social behaviour is clearly set out in its policy that is easily accessible on its website. Anti-social behaviour is included in regular performance reports to the board and we were provided with examples of how NHG works in partnership with other organisations.
NHG is engaging constructively with us on an ongoing basis, including to demonstrate that it is taking reasonable steps to identify and mitigate risks to tenants as it continues to address the issues that led to this situation. We expect the landlord to continue to deliver its improvement plans so that they drive significant change, and to share progress with tenants. Our engagement with the landlord will be intensive and we will seek evidence that gives us the assurance that sufficient change and progress is being made, including ongoing monitoring of how it delivers its improvement programme. Our priority will be that risks to tenants are adequately managed and mitigated.
Governance – G3 – November 2024
In November 2024 we assessed NHG’s governance grade as G3 following a programmed inspection of NHG.
Below is the summary of findings from our inspection about NHG’s delivery of our governance requirements. We continue to engage intensively with NHG to monitor its progress in improving its governance arrangements.
Based on evidence gained from the inspection we have concluded a downgrade to G3. There are issues of serious regulatory concern that the landlord is working to address, in agreement with us. NHG has not met all the required governance outcomes and specific expectations in the Governance and Financial Viability Standard.
There is insufficient evidence that NHG has an appropriate and robust business planning, risk and control framework that allows it to adequately manage and address risks. NHG’s risk management, internal controls and assurance framework is not sufficiently robust to enable the board to identify and manage all its risks in a timely way. As a result, there are issues in a range of areas that have resulted in poor outcomes for tenants.
This has been recognised by NHG, and it has demonstrated that it is improving its approach to managing risks and is taking steps to address any identified weaknesses. However, the range of issues that have arisen is challenging and means that the scale of improvement needed is significant. While NHG continues to respond to a number of individual presenting issues, there is more for it to do in order to ensure it delivers change that leads to sustained improvement at an appropriate pace.
NHG identified that improvements were needed to its risk management framework and this work is underway. Once completed and fully implemented this will support the board to evidence that it has sufficient oversight of the management of strategic risks. These improvements are needed for the board to be satisfied that there is appropriate assurance that the controls used to manage risks are working, and to demonstrate that the board can operate with an appropriate degree of diligence, effectiveness and foresight.
We found that while there is limited evidence of NHG’s board providing oversight of landlord health and safety compliance, the current level of oversight is limited and requires improvement to be effective. This is due to the balance of reporting between committees and the board and a reliance on exception reporting. Currently, the delegation of health and safety risks between three different committees is not effectively managed, resulting in the board not having comprehensive assurance on the health and safety of tenants in their homes. This approach does not provide the board with assurance over NHG’s compliance position. In particular there is evidence that findings from internal audits and reporting of the compliance position for third party managed buildings have not previously had oversight from the board.
NHG is having to manage pressures across its operations including the challenges of meeting safety and quality requirements for its homes, while also managing its financial position. NHG had already identified that improvement was needed in its financial governance and controls and while changes have been implemented, there is a need to continue this improvement alongside NHG’s other challenges and priorities.
NHG’s board has set and is leading the overall strategic direction of the organisation and receives regular reports enabling it to monitor oversight of its delivery against strategic performance. Stress testing and mitigation plans are aligned to the strategic risk register and stated risk appetite and we saw evidence of the board taking ownership of this.
Further work is required to review the mix of skills on the board to align to strategic priorities. NHG completed a governance review in July 2025 and we worked with NHG to ensure the scope of this review included a review of the board’s skills and its effectiveness.
NHG is working positively with us and acknowledges the concerns found through the inspection. NHG has begun to deliver the necessary improvements and is making key appointments, as well as working with external advisors, to help address the issues identified in this regulatory judgement.
Viability – V2 – October 2026
Based on the evidence reviewed through our latest stability check, our judgement is that NHG meets the viability requirements of the Governance and Financial Viability Standard and has the financial capacity to deal with a reasonable range of adverse scenarios. However, it needs to manage material risks to ensure it continues to meet those requirements.
Based on evidence gained from the stability check, we have assurance that NHG’s financial plans are consistent with, and support, its financial strategy. NHG has delivered significant refinancing activity since 2024 and 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.
NHG’s financial performance has been significantly weaker than its forecasts in recent years and impacted by exceptional, non-cash accounting adjustments. Underlying performance has also been affected by higher than budgeted repairs costs, under recovery of service charges, high levels of building safety expenditure, and emerging issues at its Stratford Halo development. NHG forecasts improved operating margins in future years, but this improvement is dependent on successful delivery of efficiency savings, a strategic disposals programme, and wider cost control measures. It has improved the level of information it holds about the condition of its homes since our 2024 inspection and its financial plan forecasts continuing high levels of investment in its existing homes.
NHG’s continuing issues in ensuring an appropriate, robust and prudent business planning framework means it needs to undertake further work to ensure its financial forecasts are appropriate and can be delivered. Despite these issues NHG continues to forecast compliance with its financial covenants however delivery of its financial plan and associated improvement measures remain critical to ensuring continued compliance.
NHG’s financial strategy seeks to reduce its debt burden and simplify the organisational structure. It is making progress with both these aims and has improved the level of headroom against financial covenants. NHG’s debt, although reduced, remains high and its business plan retains significant sales exposure while this medium-term strategy is implemented. The planned sale of NHG’s market rent business, combined with proceeds from other fixed asset disposals, will support the treasury strategy and NHG has raised new facilities to provide additional liquidity should it be needed if the sale is delayed.
These risks limit NHG’s capacity to absorb further adverse events. While mitigating actions have been identified, delivery of the financial plan remains critical. The severity of material risks faced by NHG, and the need for improvements to meet the outcomes of the consumer standards and the governance requirements of the Governance and Financial Viability Standard, mean that we will continue to engage with it intensively on an ongoing basis and closely monitor its financial performance and its capacity to manage adverse scenarios. NHG is continuing to work with us to deliver the required improvements and to ensure it has a financially sustainable strategy.
Background to the judgement
About the landlord
NHG owns or manages around 62,000 social homes, predominantly in London. At 31 March 2026, NHG employed 1,666 full-time equivalent staff and group turnover was £756.9m.
NHG is the group parent and main asset holding body. NHG has 48 legal entities including two subsidiary registered providers, Notting Hill Home Ownership and Springboard Two; two registered charities; 10 associate/joint venture limited partnerships and two public limited companies.
It plans to develop around 2,400 homes over the next five years.
Our role and regulatory approach
Regulatory judgements are our published view of how well a landlord is delivering the outcomes of our standards. For more information about our approach to regulation, please see Our role and approach to regulating landlords and How we regulate, which includes more details on our judgements and gradings.