Decision

Richmond Housing Partnership Limited (L4279) - Regulatory Judgement: 30 April 2025

Updated 30 April 2025

Applies to England

Our Judgement

	Grade/Judgement	Change	Date of assessment
Consumer		Not assessed yet
Governance	G2 Our judgement is that the landlord meets our governance requirements but needs to improve some aspects of its governance arrangements to support continued compliance.	Downgrade	April 2025
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.	Assessed and unchanged	April 2025

Reason for publication

We are publishing a regulatory judgement for Richmond Housing Partnership Limited (RHP) as a result of our responsive engagement that focused on its governance arrangements regarding the delivery of its repairs outcomes. We have also completed a stability check review against the Governance and Financial Viability Standard.

This regulatory judgement confirms a governance downgrade to G2 and a continued financial viability grading of V1.

Prior to this regulatory judgement, the governance and financial viability grades for RHP were last updated in December 2023 following a stability check, to confirm grades of G1 and V1.

We have not yet assessed this landlord against the consumer standards. 

Summary of the decision

Our judgement is that RHP meets our governance requirements but needs to improve some aspects of its governance arrangements to support continued compliance, specifically in relation to the effectiveness of its risk management and the performance framework. Based on this assessment, we have concluded a G2 grade for RHP.

Based on the relevant information and evidence we reviewed in carrying out the stability check, our judgement is that RHP meets our viability requirements and has the financial capacity to deal with a wide range of adverse scenarios. We have therefore concluded a V1 grade for RHP.

How we reached our judgement

Following a number of self-referrals relating to issues with RHPs approach to delivering outcomes for tenants, particularly on repairs and complaints handling, we carried out responsive engagement that focused on RHPs governance and risk management of these areas.  

This responsive engagement included reviewing documents and third-party reports provided by RHP and discussion with members of RHPs executive team and its chair. Our judgement is based on all of the relevant information we obtained during the responsive engagement process as well as information supplied by RHP in its regulatory returns.

We have also carried out a stability check review to assess whether there are any material risks that may result in a change to RHPs financial viability grading.

Summary of findings 

Governance – G2 – April 2025

Based on the evidence gained from our responsive engagement, there is assurance that RHP’s governance arrangements are meeting the requirements of the Governance and Financial Viability Standard. However, we have concluded that it needs to improve aspects of its governance arrangements to support continued compliance with the standard.

RHP needs to improve the effectiveness of its risk management and controls framework so that it can deliver improvements and consistency in outcomes to tenants. Whilst RHP’s board actively seeks to address issues once identified, this has not always resulted in improved outcomes. Strategic planning and management of key risks, particularly relating to repairs, needs to improve so that RHP can consistently apply lessons learnt across the organisation.  

We are satisfied that action is being taken to improve RHP’s repairs and complaints handling outcomes so that sustainable improvements in outcomes for tenants can be delivered.

RHP has been proactive in referring information and is engaging positively with us to resolve the issues identified. We will continue to work with RHP to seek assurance that sufficient improvements in how its arrangements operate in practice are being delivered at an appropriate pace.

Viability – V1 – April 2025

Based on evidence gained from the 2024 stability check review, we have assurance that RHP’s financial plans are consistent with, and support, its financial strategy. RHP has an adequately funded business plan, sufficient security, and is forecast to continue to meet its financial covenants. There is sufficient capacity to deliver its plans and manage a wide range of adverse variances.

Background to the judgement

About the landlord

RHP is a charitable community benefit society and a non-profit registered provider of social housing.

RHP is the parent to Co-op Homes (South) Limited, a community benefit society that owns 314 units and provides management services to other Co-ops in London and the South East. It also has three unregistered subsidiaries:

• RHP Develop Limited, a design and build company;
• RHP Home (Repairs) Limited, employer of repairs and maintenance operatives, and
• RHP Finance Plc, the funding vehicle for the group.

RHP owns and manages around 10,800 homes across four boroughs in the south west of London.

At 31 March 2024 RHP employed 336 full-time equivalent staff. RHP’s turnover for the year was £70.6m.

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